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Ol^ 


ORIGIN  AND  HISTOPiY 

BOOKS  OF  THE  BIBLE,^ 

BOTH  . ______—«.  •.  \     - 

%\i  Cauoiucal  anlr  llje  l^ptrjijiljal, 


DESIGNED    TO    SHOW 


WHAT    THE    BIBLE     IS     NOT,    WHAT    IT    IS,   AND    HOW    TO   USE    IT. 


By  prof.  C.  E.  STOWE,  D.  D. 

(THE  NEW  TESTAMENT,) 
ILLUSTR,ATEr). 


PUBLISHED    BY    SUBSCRIPTION    ONLY,    BY 

HARTFORD    PUBLISHING    COMPANY, 
HARTFORD,    CONN. 


J.  D.  DENISON,  NEW  YORK. 

ZEIGLER,  McCURDY  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. ;  CINCINNATI,  O. ; 

AND  ST.  LOUIS,  MO.    J.  A.  STODDARD,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

1868. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1867,  by 

CALVIN  E.  STOWE, 

in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for 
District  of  Connecticut. 

Entered  also  at 
Stationers'  Hall,  London,  England. 


TO  THOSE  WHO  WITH  ME 


THE    FOLLOWING   PAGES 


AKE  AEFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED 


1%^  the  ^uihtj.X[, 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Portrait  of  the  Author,  - 
Jerusalem  from  Mount  of  Olivks, 
Convent  of  St.  Catharine,  Mount  Sinai, 

CiESAREA,  -  -  _  - 

Mount  of  Olives,    .  -  - 

View  of  Bethlehem,    -  -  - 

Cave  of  Nativity,   -  -  - 

Vale  and  City  of  Nazareth,    - 

Bethany,       .  -  -  - 

Lake  of  Tiberias,  .  .  . 

Jews'  Place  of  "Wailing,     - 

The  Holy  Sepulchre,   - 

Island  of  Patmos,   -  -  - 

Nine  Fac-simile  Illustrations  of  Ancient  Manuscripts,  let- 
tered A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  F,  G,  II,  with  their  explanations,  are  in- 
serted at  the  close  of  the  third  chapter. 


to  face  Title  Page. 

-    to  face 

page  57 

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(; 

72 

a 

u 

115 

(( 

(( 

209 

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a 

215 

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a 

220 

a 

.( 

286 

u 

u 

302 

n 

iC 

379 

.< 

(C 

499 

(i 

it 

440 

a 

a 

469 

PKEFAOE. 


The  purpose  of  this  volume  can  best  be  shown  by  a  familiar  illus- 
tration :  I  purchase  several  different  parcels  of  real  estate  in  the 
city  of  Hartford,  and  wish  to  ascertain  the  validity  of  my  title  to 
each  one  of  the  parcels.  I  take  the  deeds  to  the  register's  office  and 
there  trace  each  one  by  itself  through  all  the  preceding  purchasers 
till  I  come  to  the  title  derived  from  the  original  proprietors.  If  there 
is  no  break  in  this  chain  of  documentary  evidence  the  title  is  perfect. 

So  each  one  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  must  be  traced 
up  to  the  Apostles,  who  only  had  authority  to  deliver  inspired  books 
to  the  churches.  This  is  what  the  present  volume  professes  to  do.  It 
is  a  book  of  authorities  and  testimonies ;  it  is  the  tracing  and  verify- 
ing of  title  deeds. 

But  there  are  some  deeds  in  which  the  chain  is  broken  before  we 
get  to  the  original  proprietors  ;  there  are  some  which  are  forgeries 
and  were  not  given  by  the  men  whose  names  they  bear ;  and  there 
are  others  which  Avere  given  by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear, 
but  these  persons  had  no  authority  to  make  the  sales.  All  such  deeds 
are  invalid  and  confer  no  title. 

These  latter  deeds  represent  the  apocryphal  books.  It  is  proposed 
to  show  that  every  one  of  the  apocryphal  books  belongs  to  one  of  these 
three  classes,  to  wit:  1.  They  can  not  be  traced  to  the  apostles;  2. 
Some  of  them  are  proved  to  be  forgeries  ;  3.  And  others,  though  gen- 
uine, were  written  by  persons  who  had  not  apostolic  authority  to  give 
inspired  books  to  the  churches. 

In  making  our  investigations  we  begin  with  the  times  of  Jerome 
and  Augustin ;  because  all  admit  that  since  that  period  there  have 
been  no  changes  in  the  canon,  and  no  authority  for  any  change. 

Thus  each  individual  book  of  the  New  Testament  is  shown  to 
stand  on  its  own  merits,  its  own  evidence  ;  and  there  is  a  full  ex- 
posure of  the  groundlessness  of  the  silly  story  so  often  repeated,  that 
certain  men  got  together  and  voted  what  should  be  Bible,  and  what 
should  not,  and  that  this  is  the  authority  on  which  we  receive  the 
books  of  the  Bible  as  of  Divine  origin. 

This  being  a  book  of  authorities  and  testimonies,  as  has 
already  been  said,  it  must  necessarily  be,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
made  up  of  extracts  from  the  original  authors  and  witnesses.  The 
works  from  which  these  extracts  are  made,  are  not  accessible  to  the 


VI  PREFACE. 

people,  or  even  to  the  ministers  of  the  church,  except  in  very  few 
cases,  and  therefore  there  is  an  absolute  necessity  lor  giving  the  ex- 
tracts quite  fully,  if  we  would  aflbrd  to  our  readers  a  fair  opportunity 
of  making  up  their  own  judgment  on  sufficient  grounds.  To  scholars 
by  profession  I  recommend  the  voluminous  works  of  the  Church 
Fathers  themselves,  and  the  very  copious  and  judicious  selections  from 
them  made  in  the  large  and  elaborate  treatises  by  Lardner  and  Kirch- 
hofer.  I  have  faithfully  endeavored  to  give  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
testimony.  To  give  the  whole  of  it  and  the  arguments  arising  from 
it,  would  be  to  make  ten  volumes  like  Lardner  instead  of  one,  and 
place  the  work  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  those  for  whom  I  intend 
it.  I  have  not  given  the  strongest  testimonies  only,  but  fair  speci- 
mens of  both  the  strongest  and  the  "weakest ;  that  the  reader  may 
see  exactly  how  the  matter  lies  in  the  original  authorities  to  which  I 
appeal. 

The  extracts  from  the  apocryphal  books  are  also  full  and  copious ; 
for  these  books  for  the  most  part  are  wholly  inaccessible  to  the  public 
generally,  and  without  full  extracts  I  should  entirely  fail  of  my  object, 
which  is  to  put  into  the  hands  of  the  common  reader  ample  means 
of  judging  between  the  canonical  and  the  apocryphal.  Some  of  these 
books  are  exceedingly  interesting.  They  are  the  honest  endeavors 
of  good  Christian  men,  near  the  apostolic  times ;  and  the  manifest 
difference  between  the  apostolic  writings  and  theirs,  is  just  the  differ- 
ence between  divine  inspiration  and  the  unassisted  efforts  of  the  hu- 
man mind  at  that  period  and  in  that  class  of  people.  Others  of  these 
books  are  mere  fictions,  contrived  by  men  moi'c  remote  from  the 
apostolic  period,  who  had  withdrawn  into  caves  and  deserts,  and  who 
thought  that  the  way  to  serve  God  was  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
men.  Their  dreams  and  sleepy  imaginings  are  just  what  we  might 
expect  under  such  circumstances  ;  but  how  different  from  the  practi- 
cal common  sense  and  energetic  worldly  activity  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ! 

The  style  of  my  book  is  plain,  simple  and  colloquial,  as  the  purpose 
in  writing  it  required.  I  hope  it  is  neither  barbarous  nor  un-grammat- 
ical ;  for  though  I  make  no  claims  to  elegance,  I  have  endeavored  to 
be  correct,  concise  and  intelligible. 

A  similar  volume,  of  about  the  same  size,  on  the  Old  Testament, 
including  discussions  of  some  general  topics,  necessary  to  a  complete 
view  of  the  whole  subject,  such  as  Inspiration,  Miracles,  the  Laws 
of  Interpretation,  etc.,  will  be  ready  early  next  spring,  if  Providence 
permit. 

C.  E.  STOWE. 

April  1,  I8G7. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  common  popular  objections  to  the  Bible  at 

THE    present    day WHAT    THE    BiBLE    IS    NOT,  WHAT 

IT  IS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  IT,  -  -  -  -  9-37 

CHAPTER   II. 

The    KIND    OF    EVIDENCE    ON    WHICH    WE    RECEIVE    THE 

SACRED  BOOKS  OF  THE  NeW  TESTAMENT,  -  -         39-56 

CHAPTER   III. 

Evidence  on  which  we  receive  the  present  text  of 
THE  New  Testament  as  substantially  correct. 
Description  of  the  Ancient  Manuscripts  of  the 
New  Testament,  with  Fac-simile  Illustrations,  -    57-100 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Brief  Biographies  of  one  hundred  of  the  Ancient 
Witnesses  to  the  New  Testament  books,  whose 
testimony  is  most  important,  and  much  of  it  cited 
IN  this  work,  -  .  _  .  .  101-140 

CHAPTER    V. 

Testimony  for  the  historical  books  of  the  New 

Testament,     ----_.  141-160 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  four  Gospels  separately  examined,  Mattheav, 

Mark,  Luke  and  John,  -  _  _  .  k;  1-201 


Vm  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER   VIL 

The  Apocryphal  Gospels  and  fragments  of  Gos- 
pels SUPPOSED  to  be  lost,     -  -  -  -  203-252 

CHAPTER    vm. 

Modern  substitutes  for  the  Gospel  History — exam- 
ination OF  THE  Biographies  of  Jesus,  by  Strauss, 
Weisse,  Gfroerer,  Bruno  Bauer,  F.  C.  Baur,  Re- 
nan  AND  Sciienkel,    -----  253-312 

CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Acts  op  the  Apostles  and  the  Apocryphal 

Acts, 313-334 

CHAPTER    X. 
The  Fourteen  Epistles  of  Paul,        -  -  -  335-389 

CHAPTER   XL 

The  Catholic  Epistles  and  the  Apocryphal  Epis- 
tles,     391-467 

CHAPTER   Xn. 

The  Revelaton  of  St.  John  and  the  Apocryphal 

Revelations,  _  .  .  .  -  469-508 

CHAPTER   XIIT. 

The  Bible  Prophets  and  the  Classical  Oracles 

contrasted,    ------  509-540 

CHAPTER   XIY. 

The  Apocryphal  Books  of  the  Old  Testament  and 

the  reasons  for  their  exclusion  from  the  Canon,  541-583 


CHAPTER    FIRST. 

THE  COMMON  POPULAR  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  BIBLE  AT  THE 
PRESENT  DAY.  WHAT  THE  BIBLE  IS  NOT,  WHAT  IT  IS, 
AND    HOW    TO    USE    IT. 

John,  v.  39  ;  xvii.  17, — Search  the  Scriptures.     Thy  Word  is  truth. 

The  Lord  Jesus,  when  talking  with  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  says  to  them.  Search  the  Scriptures^  and  when 
praying  to  his  Heavenly  Father,  in  behalf  of  his  disci- 
ples, he  says.  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth^  thy 
word  is  truth. 

According  to  these  two  statements,  the  Lord  Jesus 
must  have  considered  the  Scriptures  to  be  the  very 
best  book  in  the  world,  both  for  believers  and  unbeliev- 
ers, both  for  the  regenerate  and  the  unregenerate ;  he 
must  have  regarded  them  as  true ;  he  must  have  looked 
upon  the  Bible  as  it  then  existed,  and  was  afterwards 
to  be  enlarged,  as  the  best  means  of  making  men  good 
and  noble  and  true ;  and  he  must  have  thought,  that 
in  order  to  derive  benefit  from  it,  men  must  search, 
examine,  and  study  it. 

Many  persons  in  our  day  seem  to  have  quite  a  diifer- 
ent  opinion  of  the  Bible  from  that  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  here  expresses.  A  respectable  old  book  enough 
(they  think)  considering  the  times  in  which  its  differ- 
ent parts  were  written,  but  far  behind  the  civilization 
of  the  present  day,  and  it  has,  on  the  whole,  about  as 


10  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

many  bad  things  in  it  as  good  ones.  Without  showing 
any  disrespect  to  these  men  we  may  be  permitted  to 
say,  so  far  as  personal  character  is  concerned,  intel- 
lectual or  moral,  or  so  far  as  opportunity  of  knowledge 
on  this  subject  is  concerned,  their  mere  opinion  in  re- 
gard to  the  Bible  can  not  be  considered,  to  say  the 
very  least,  any  more  worthy  of  our  regard  than  that 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Let  us  bring  this  matter  to  the  test  of  fact  and  com- 
mon sense.  These  men  say,  that  the  Bible  is  no  more 
inspired  than  the  writings  of  Homer  and  Shakespeare, 
and  other  great  men,  whom  God  has  fitted  to  be  the 
instructors  of  mankind.  Well,  then,  let  us  try  and 
see.  Let  us  for  a  while  use  Homer  and  Shakespeare 
instead  of  the  Bible,  say  night  and  morning,  in  our 
family  prayers — when  we  meet  in  the  house  of  God 
for  his  worship — in  the  hour  of  sickness  and  calamity 
and  distress — at  funerals,  when  all  our  earthly  hopes 
are  blighted,  and  we  lay  our  dearest  friends  in  the 
grave — let  us  then,  instead  of  reading  the  Bible, 
take  a  few  passages  from  Homer  and  Shakespeare. 
How  long  do  you  think  this  would  last,  before  we 
should  be  glad  to  get  back  to  our  Bible  again  ? 

The  old  gross  assaults  on  the  Bible,  of  the  Voltaire 
and  Paine  school  have  now  generally  passed  by,  the 
book  is  treated  rather  respectfully  than  otherwise  by 
its  opponents,  and  the  objections  to  it  are  founded 
mainly  on  what  it  is  not  and  what  it  does  not  profess 
to  be,  rather  than  on  what  it  is  and  what  it  does  pro- 
fess to  be.  And  these  objections  for  the  most  part  are 
entirely  inappropriate,  wholly  aside  from  all  the  facts 
of  the  Bible,  and  from  all  the  claims  which  it  makes 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  11 

for  itself.  They  are  just  like  objecting  to  a  ship 
because  it  is  not  adapted  to  moving  on  a  railway,  or 
to  a  locomotive  because  it  can  not  sail  on  the  sea; 
like  objecting  to  an  iron  foundry  because  it  will  not 
make  cloth,  or  to  a  cotton  factory  because  it  can 
not  manufacture  iron.  To  meet  such  objections  we 
must  consider  what  the  Bible  is  not  as  well  as  wdiat 
it  is,  what  it  does  not  claim  to  be,  as  well  as  what  it 
does  claim  to  be. 

I.  The  Bible  is  not  an  amulet,  a  charm,  a  fetish,  a 
thing  which  by  its  mere  presence  without  any  voluntary 
agency  exerted  in  connection  with  it,  accomplishes  its 
purpose ;  it  is  not  to  be  used  as  the  believers  in  witchcraft 
use  a  horse-shoe,  or  the  American  Indian  his  medicine- 
bag,  or  the  superstitious  Christian  his  relic  or  crucifix. 

The  Bible  is  not,  neither  does  it  claim  to  be,  any- 
thing of  this  kind.  It  is  the  principles  of  the  Bible 
which  must  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  soul, 
which  must  be  interwoven  with  the  very  texture  of 
our  minds,  which  must  be  made  a  part  of  our  moral 
nature.  This  is  the  way  and  the  only  way  in  which  it 
promises  to  benefit  us,  in  which  it  has  done  any  good; 
and  it  does  not  operate  by  its  mere  presence  like  a 
charm  or  relic. 

The  thirsty  man  in  the  desert,  when  he  comes  to  a 
spring,  must  drink  of  it  as  well  as  find  it,  or  he  per- 
ishes with  thirst. 

Yet  men  sometimes  say.  The  Bible  does  no  good ; 
here  it  has  been  in  the  world  thousands  of  years ;  and 
the  world  is  still  full  of  sin  and  misery,  just  as  it 
always  has  been. 

In  the  midst  of  Christian  churches  where  the  Bible 


12  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

is  read  every  day,  there  are  the  dishonest,  the  licen- 
tious, the  blood-thirsty,  and  the  vilhainous.  True,  but 
are  these  dishonest,  licentious,  blood-thirsty,  villainous 
people,  in  Christian  communities,  the  men  who  love 
and  read  the  Bible — or  the  reverse  ?  Which  are  the 
families  generally  that  rear  the  industrious,  frugal, 
intelligent,  useful  citizens ;  the  families  that  despise  and 
neglect  the  Bible,  or  the  families  that  revere  and  study 
it?  Are  the  men  generally  who  neither  believe  nor 
love  the  Bible,  who  neither  regard  nor  study  it,  better 
men  than  their  neighbors,  who  believe,  love  and  obey 
the  Bible  ?  Is  the  Bible  generally  a  favorite  book  in 
grog-shops  and  gambling  houses  and  brothels  ?  Is  it 
a  book  which  cheats  and  swindlers  and  rogues  espe- 
cially love  to  study  ? 

Let  us  look  at  this  matter  in  the  light  of  common 
honesty  and  common  sense.  A  plague  is  raging  in  a 
city,  and  a  benevolent  physician  discovers  a  remedy, 
which,  if  taken  according  to  the  prescription,  infalli- 
bly cures ;  all  who  take  it  and  follow  the  prescriptions 
escape  death  from  the  plague.  But  some  refuse  to 
take  the  medicine ;  others  take  it  and  do  not  follow 
the  prescriptions,  and  these  sicken  and  die.  Now, 
says  the  objector,  see,  that  medicine  does  no  good — 
people  die  of  the  plague  just  as  they  did  before! 
True,  but  who  die  ?  they  who  take  the  remedy,  or  they 
who  refuse  or  neglect  it  ?  There  is  the  test  as  you 
well  know.  Now  try  the  Bi])le  by  that  test  and  your 
objection  is  answered.  Contrast  any  nation,  any  peo- 
ple, any  community,  that  has  and  reverences  and  uses 
the  Bible,  with  any  nation,  people  or  community  that 
has  it  not,  or  refuses  to  put  it  to  its  proper  use,  and 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  13 

see  the  difference.  However  prejudiced  you  may  be, 
you  can  not  shut  your  eyes  to  the  phainest  of  facts. 

II.  The  Bible  is  not  one  unbroken  chain  of  books, 
chapters,  and  verses,  representing  one  unbroken  series 
of  divine  utterances  from  beginning  to  end. 

Look  for  no  such  thing  as  this  when  reading  the 
Bible,  but  rather  the  contrary.  The  Scriptures  were 
given  to  men  piecemeal,  throughout  many  ages,  as 
God  saw  the  right  opportunities — at  sundry  times  and 
in  divers  maimers — this  is  what  the  Bible  says  of  itself; 
and  not  all  at  once,  as  if  you  must  have  bud,  blossom  and 
fruit,  all  in  the  same  hour.  The  analogy  here  between  na- 
ture and  the  word,  as  in  everything  else,  holds  perfectly. 
First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  after  that  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear ;  this  is  what  the  Bible  says  of  itself,  and 
this  is  just  what  we  find  it  to  be.  There  is  but  little 
of  external  unity  in  the  Bible,  it  makes  no  pretensions 
to  any  such  thing ;  you  need  not  be  at  all  shaken  by 
the  clamors  of  those  who  would  make  this  obvious 
fact  an  objection  to  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures. 
As  well  might  it  be  objected  to  the  miracles  of  Christ 
that  they  are  not  given  in  philosophical  order,  begin- 
ning with  the  less  and  going  on  to  the  greater,  with 
just  so  many  and  only  so  many  of  each  kind. 

The  unity  of  Scripture  is  not  an  external,  it  is  an 
internal,  a  spiritual  unity,  the  unity  of  one  grand  idea 
running  through  the  whole,  the  idea  of  reuniting  the 
human  soul  to  God,  from  whom  it  has  been  so  sadly 
broken  off  by  sin  ;  and  that  too  through  a  long  con- 
tinued process  of  sharp  conflict  and  agonizing  struggle. 

Outside,  the  Bible  is  like  some  of  those  grand  old 
rural  dwellings  in  England,  a  congeries  of  different 


14  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

buildings  in  every  variety  of  style,  the  disconnected 
work  of  many  successive  generations ;  but  within,  a 
perfect  harmony  of  utility  and  convenience,  and  all 
proceeding  on  one  idea. 

Warwick  Castle,  for  example,  viewed  from  the  out- 
side, is  an  immense  pile,  the  disjointed  work  of  four 
or  five  successive  centuries,  with  every  variety  of 
architecture ;  but  within,  the  apartments,  though  each 
is  finished  in  the  style  appropriate  to  its  own  period, 
are  most  nicely  adjusted  to  each  other,  so  as  to  form 
suits  of  rooms  perfectly  harmonious,  and  make  the 
whole  edifice  a  convenient  and  delightful  residence. 
So  with  the  Scriptures,  externally  a  miscellany,  or  if 
you  please  to  call  it  so,  a  jumble,  of  different  composi- 
tions, in  different  styles,  by  all  sorts  of  authors,  and 
separated  by  ages  and  centuries,  yet  internally,  spirit- 
ually, a  perfectly  harmonious  whole.  So  strong  is  this 
internal  oneness,  that  it  is  even  seen  on  the  outside. 
'  In  the  first  three  chapters  of  Genesis  we  have  creation, 
paradise,  and  the  apostacy  ;  then  through  all  the  suc- 
ceeding books,  conflict  unspeakable,  a  protracted, 
dreadful  struggle,  till  in  the  last  three  chapters  of 
Revelations,  we  have  the  new  creation,  paradise 
regained,  the  final  eternal  victory  over  sin  and  Satan, 
and  every  form  of  evil.'* 

It  is  no  objection  to  the  Bible,  considering  the  uses 
it  was  designed  to  subserve,  that  it  is  made  up,  as  the 
objectors  say,  of  the  fragments  of  Hebrew  literature 
throughout  many  ages,  or  even  that  of  some  of  the 
books  the  authors  names  are  not  certainly  known  ; — • 
any  more  than  it  is  an  objection  to  Warwick  Castle, 
*  Archbishop  Trench. 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  15 

that  it  was  not  built  at  one  time,  by  one  architect,  and 
in  one  uniform  style  of  architecture ;  or  that  the  names 
of  the  different  architects  of  the  different  portions  of 
it  have  not  all  been  preserved.  The  very  interest  and 
beauty  of  the  edifice  is  greatly  heightened  by  this 
diversity,  as  every  one  sees  and  feels ;  and  the  name 
of  an  architect  has  no  essential  connection  with  the 
perfection  of  his  work ;  that  stands  on  its  own  founda- 
tion, name  or  no  name.  All  this  is  literally  true  of 
the  Bible  ;  it  is  vastly  more  interesting,  more  beauti- 
ful, more  adapted  to  the  use  of  mankind,  as  it  is,  than 
it  could  be  if  it  had  been  one  compact,  uniform  treat- 
ise ;  and  the  book  of  Job  is  just  as  interesting  a  book 
as  it  would  have  been  if  it  were  certainly  known 
whether  the  name  of  the  author  should  be  written 
with  two  or  three  syllables  instead  of  one,  whether  we 
should  call  him  Job,  or  Moses,  or  Elihu.  When  we 
have  a  statute  book  issued  by  the  authority  of  our 
government,  we  do  not  need  to  have  the  name  of  each 
one  of  the  original  engrossing  clerks  signed  to  each 
individual  enactment,  to  give  it  authority ;  enough  that 
the  whole  book,  as  it  stands  before  us,  has  been  prop- 
erly authenticated ;  and  this  we  claim  has  been  done 
in  respect  to  the  Bible. 

III.  The  Bible  is  not  given  to  us  in  any  celestial 
or  superhuman  language.  If  it  had  been  it  would 
have  been  of  no  use  to  us,  for  every  book  intended 
for  men  must  be  given  to  them  in  the  language  of 
men.  But  every  human  language  is  of  necessity,  and 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  an  imperfect  lan- 
guage. No  human  language  has  exactly  one  word 
and  only  one  for  each  distinct  idea.     In  every  known 


16  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

language  the  same  word  is  used  to  indicate  different 
things,  and  different  words  are  used  to  indicate  the 
same  thing.  In  every  human  language  each  word  has 
more  than  one  meaning,  and  each  thing  has  generally 
more  than  one  name. 

The  boy  is  learning  his  letters — the  merchant  is 
writing  his  letters — Dr.  Johnson  was  a  man  of  letters. 
In  these  three  sentences  the  same  word  letters  is  used 
to  designate  three  perfectly  distinct  and  most  widely 
divergent  things — yet  nobody  mistakes,  or  nobody 
need  mistake,  for  the  connection  in  each  case  shows 
the  meaning.  How  many  different  names  there  are  to 
designate  that  one  thing,  a  boat.  In  every  known 
language  words  are  sometimes  used  in  a  figurative 
sense  and  not  always  in  their  literal  signification.  In 
the  first  stanza  of  Grey's  Ode  on  Spring,  there  are  no 
less  than  eight  words  used  in  their  figurative  instead 
of  their  literal  sense.     Yet  who  mistakes  ? 

"  Lo,  wliere  the  rosy-hosomed  Hours 

Fair  Venus'  train  appear, 
Disclose  the  long-expecting  flowers 

And  wake  the  purple  year  ! 
The  Attic  warbler  pours  her  tliroat 
Responsive  to  the  cuckoo's  note, 
The  untaught  harmony  of  Spring : 
Wliile,  tvhispering  pleasure  as  they  fly, 
Cool  zephyrs  through  the  clear  blue  sky 

Their  gather'd  fragrance  fling." 

In  all  these  cases  men  can  mistake  if  they  choose. 
They  can  make  the  metaphorical  literal,  and  the  literal 
metaphorical,  they  can  confound  the  equivocal,  and 
confuse  the  synonymous,  if  they  will  be  perverse  and 
unfair  ;  and  they  can  understand  aright  if  they  desii'e 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  17 

to.  All  this  is  as  true  of  the  Bible  as  of  any  other 
book,  and  no  more  so. 

Moreover,  human  minds  are  unlike  in  the  impres- 
sions which  they  receive  from  the  same  word ;  and  it 
is  certain  that  one  man  seldom  gives  to  another,  of 
different  temperament,  education,  and  habits  of  thought, 
by  language,  exactly  the  same  idea,  with  the  same 
shape  and  color,  as  that  which  lies  in  his  own  mind ; 
yet,  if  men  are  honest  and  right-minded  they  can  come 
near  ea:iough  to  each  other's  meaning  for  all  purposes 
of  practical  utility. 

Here  comes  in  the  objection  that  the  Bible  can  be 
made  to  mean  everything  and  anything,  all  sects  build 
upon  it,  the  most  diverse  doctrines  are  derived  from  it. 

This  infelicity  it  shares  with  everything  else  that  has 
to  be  expressed  in  human  language.  This  is  owing  to 
the  imperfection,  the  necessajry  imperfection  of  human 
language,  and  to  the  infirmity  and  the  perverse  ingenu- 
ity also  of  the  human  mind.  It  is  not  anything  peculiar 
to  the  Bible.  Hear  two  opposing  lawyers  argue  a 
point  of  statute  law  in  its  application  to  a  particular 
case.  Hear  two  opposing  politicians  make  their 
diverse  arguments  in  reference  to  the  true  intent  and 
force  of  a  particular  clause  in  the  United  States  Con- 
stitution. Is  there  not  here  as  wide  room  for  diversity 
of  opinion  and  opposition  of  reasoning,  as  in  regard 
to  the  meaning  of  any  text  of  Scripture,  or  the  cor- 
rectness of  any  point  of  theology  ?  Yet  these  laws  and 
constitutions  are  made  in  our  own  language,  and  our 
own  time,  while  the  Bible  comes  to  us  from  a  remote 
age  and  in  foreign  tongues.  Enough,  that  the  Bible 
can  be  understood,  if  honestly  studied,  as  well  as  any 
2 


18  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

constitution  or  any  body  of  statutes  can  be  understood. 
This  much  is  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes,  and 
it  is  for  practical  purposes  only  that  the  Bible  was 
given. 

Yet  prepossessions,  prejudices  and  passions  come  in 
so  plentifully  to  darken  and  confuse  men's  minds,  when 
they  are  reading  the  Bible.  He  opened  their  under- 
standings that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures. 
Men  in  these  times  need  to  have  their  understandings 
both  opened  and  straightened  out,  that  they  may 
understand  the  Scriptures. 

IV.  The  Bible  is  not  a  specimen  of  God's  skill  as 
a  writer,  showing  us  God's  mode  of  thought,  giving  us 
God's  logic,  and  God's  rhetoric,  and  God's  style  of 
historic  narration.  How  often  do  we  see  men  seeking 
out  isolated  passages  of  Scripture,  and  triumphantly 
saying  that  such  expressions  are  unworthy  of  God, 
and  could  not  have  proceeded  from  Him.  They  are 
unskillful,  the  mode  of  thought  is  faulty,  they  are  illog- 
ical, in  bad  taste,  the  reasoning  is  not  conclusive,  the 
narrative  is  liable  to  exception.  God  has  not  put  him- 
self on  trial  before  us  in  that  way  in  the  Bible,  any 
more  than  He  has  in  the  creation — any  more  than  He 
has  promised  that  the  Bible  shall  always  be  printed 
for  us  on  the  best  of  paper,  with  the  best  of  type,  and 
perfect  freedom  from  typographical  errors,  and  that 
after  it  is  printed,  it  shall  never  be  torn,  nor  soiled, 
nor  any  leaf  lost :  or  that  apostles  and  preachers  shall 
be  regularly  handsome,  men  of  fine  forms  and  beauti- 
ful faces,  and  faultless  elocution.  It  is  always  to  be 
remembered  that  the  writers  of  the  Bible  were  '  God's 
penmen,  and  not  God's  pens.'* 

*  Reply  to  Essays  and  Reviews. 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  19 

It  is  not  tlie  words  of  the  Bible  that  were  inspired, 
it  is  not  the  thoughts  of  the  Bible  that  were  inspired ; 
it  is  the  men  who  wrote  the  Bible  that  were  inspired. 
Inspiration  acts  not  on  the  man's  words,  not  on  the 
man's  thoughts,  but  on  the  man  himself;  so  that  he, 
by  his  own  spontaneity,  under  the  impulse  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  conceives  certain  thoughts  and  gives  utterance 
to  them  in  certain  words,  both  the  words  and  the 
thoughts  receiving  the  peculiar  impress  of  the  mind 
which  conceived  and  uttered  them,  and  being  in  fact 
just  as  really  his  own,  as  they  could  have  been  if  there 
had  been  no  inspiration  at  all  in  the  case.  The  birth 
and  nature  of  Christ  afford  an  exact  illustration.  The 
Holy  Infant  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  though  begot- 
ten of  God  directly  without  any  human  father,  (as  it 
was  said,  the  Holy  Gliost  shall  come  upon  thee  and  the 
'power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadoio  thee)^  —  this 
infant  lived  by  his  mother's  life,  and  grew  by  the 
mother's  growth,  and  partook  of  the  mother's  nature, 
and  was  just  as  much  her  child  as  he  could  have  been 
if  Joseph  had  been  his  father,  the  human  and  the 
divine  in  most  intimate  and  inseparable  conjunction. 
It  is  this  very  fact  of  the  commingled  and  inseparable 
union  of  the  human  and  divine,  which  constitutes  the 
utility,  which  makes  out  the  adaptedness  to  the  wants 
of  men,  both  of  the  incarnation  of  Christ  and  of  the 
gift  of  the  word.  Inspiration  generally  is  a  purifying, 
and  an  elevation,  and  an  intensification  of  the  hjiman 
intellect  subjectively,  rather  than  an  objective  sugges- 
tion and  communication  ;  though  suggestion  and  com- 
munication are  not  excluded. 

The  Divine  mind  is,  as  it  were,  so  diffused  through 


20  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  human,  and  the  human  mind  is  so  interpenetrated 
with  the  Divine,  that  for  the  time  being  the  utterances 
of  the  man  are  the  word  of  God. 

Moreover,  should  we  admit  the  facts  in  this  objec- 
tion to  be  just  what  the  objector  assumes  them  to  be ; 
even  then  they  would  only  show  the  exact  analogy 
between  nature  and  the  Bible,  and  thus  prove,  as  far 
as  analogy  can  prove  anything,  that  they  are  both 
from  the  same  author.  Nature,  as  well  as  the  Bible, 
has  its  useful  things,  and  its  good  and  beautiful  things ; 
and  nature,  as  well  as  the  Bible,  and  even  to  a  much 
greater  extent,  has  that  which  to  our  eyes  may  seem 
mean,  ugly  and  useless.  Why  not  apply  to  nature  the 
same  kind  of  criticism  which  you  apply  to  the  Bible, 
and  say  of  some  of  the  annoying  creatures  which  you 
find  on  land,  or  of  some  of  the  queer  looking  animals 
which  come  out  of  the  sea:  "God  never  made  such 
a  looking  thing  as  that — so  odd,  so  out  of  all  taste,  so 
disagreeable,  so  useless."  Why  is  not  creation  as  well 
as  the  word  fairly  open  to  this  kind  of  criticism? 
Certainly  it  is  just  as  well  grounded  in  the  one  case  as 
in  the  other,  and  so  far  as  facts  go,  the  creation  stands 
at  quite  a  disadvantage  in  this  particular  by  the  side 
of  the  Bible.  I  see  no  way  to  avert  the  force  of  this 
consideration,  unless  we  afiirm  with  the  Magi  of  old  that 
God  created  the  horses  and  the  cows  and  the  nightin- 
gales, and  the  Devil  made  the  hyenas  and  the  hornets 
and  the  canker-worms.  Could  not  the  old  Magiau  press 
the  believers  in  one  only  Creator  with  the  same  argu- 
ment which  unbelievers  now  urge  against  the  Bible, 
and  with  a  much  fairer  show  of  justice  ?  God  knows,  if 
we  do  not,  what  He  made  every  creature  for,  for  every- 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  21 

thing  He  has  made  He  has  a  use ;  and  so  it  is  with 
every  sentence  in  the  Bible ;  every  paragraph  has  its 
own  appropriate  use,  and  will  at  some  time  or  other 
come  into  appropriate  play — or  at  least,  how  can  you 
prove  that  it  is  not  so,  so  as  to  derive  from  this  source 
an  argument  against  the  Bible  ?  Example — the  book 
of  Jonah — Paul's  cloak  and  parchment. 

And  here  may  properly  be  considered  an  objection 
derived  from  certain  alleged  wrongs  and  immoralities 
in  some  parts  of  Scripture. 

1.  Some  of  these  are  just  such  wrongs  as  we  find 
in  nature,  such  as  the  destruction  of  people  by  hostile 
armies  instead  of  famine  or  pestilence,  fire  or  storm 
— making  the  innocent  suffer  for  the  sins  of  the 
guilty ; — visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  children,  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation, 
etc.  All  this  happens  every  day,  both  in  nature  and 
Providence. 

2.  Others  are  not  immoralities  at  all :  the  manners 
and  social  condition  of  ancient  times  were  quite  diverse 
from  ours,  and  the  alleged  difficulty  arises  wholly  from 
bringing  the  unsuspecting  innocence  of  childhood  in 
collision  with  the  fastidious  depravity  of  maturer  years. 

3.  A  true  account  of  the  ancient  misdeeds  of  men 
otherwise  good  and  holy,  is  not  necessarily  immoral  or 
of  immoral  tendency.  This  depends  wholly  on  the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  the  narrative.  A  divine  revela- 
tion must  be  true  to  facts,  and  give  a  strictly  accurate 
view  of  human  nature,  and  not  a  false  or  even  a  flat- 
tering one. 

4.  A  revelation  is  designedly  progressive,  and 
morally  progressive,  as  well  as  intellectually  and  reli- 


22  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

giously,  socially  and  politically,  as  it  must  be  if  ac- 
countable men  and  not  creatures  merely  passive,  are  to 
be  trained,  freely  and  not  compulsively,  from  the 
infancy  of  the  race  to  its  maturity  ; — and  we  have  not 
and  do  not  pretend  to  have  the  perfection  of  morals 
till  we  have  perfection  of  revelation  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  New  Testament  itself  says,  that  the 
law  made  nothing  perfect  hut  the  hringing  in  of  a  better 
hope  did. — Heb.  vii.  19.  And  there  is  verily  a  disan- 
nidling  of  the  commayidment  going  before.,  for  the  weak- 
ness and  uyiprofitableness  thereof 

V.  The  Bible  does  not  consist  of  systematic  dis- 
courses, either  on  theology,  or  on  morals,  or  on  histo- 
ry, or  on  any  other  topic. 

Do  not  expect  the  Bible  to  be  like  regularly  planned 
and  carefully  written  sermons ;  if  you  do  you  will  never 
understand  it  or  get  much  good  from  it.  Take  any  of 
the  finished  sermons  of  Jeremy  Taylor  or  H.  Melville, 
of  Dr.  Dwight  or  Dr.  Emmons,  and  lay  them  side  by  side 
with  what  you  find  in  the  Bible,  and  they  are  no  more 
like  it  than  the  trimmed  lawns,  and  regular  paths  and 
formal  trees  of  a  gentleman's  grounds  are  like  the  luxu- 
riant and  untouched  forests  of  nature.  So  far  as  the 
form  of  composition  is  concerned  can  you  possibly  con- 
ceive of  a  greater  contrast  ?  It  may  be  said  indeed  of 
the  discourses  of  these  great  and  good  men,  that  they 
were  adapted  to  their  times  and  to  their  congrega- 
tions, and  this  no  doubt  is  true ;  but  a  much  better 
and  grander  thing  can  be  said  of  the  discourses  in  the 
Bible,  to  wit:  that  they  are  adapted  to  all  times 
and  to  all  congregations ;  and  this  universal  adapted- 
ncss  depends  in  no  small  degree  on  that  very  absence 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  23 

of  systematic  and  philosophical  structure  and  arrange- 
ment, which  is  sometimes  urged  against  them  as  an 
objection.  All  men  are  not  philosophers,  but  all  men 
have  impulses;  few  men  are  trained  to  systematic 
thought,  but  all  are  capable  of  emotion. 

It  is  only  in  certain  states  of  society  that  men  can 
appreciate  the  artificial  plantation,  or  are  capable  of 
using  it,  but  all  men  in  all  states  of  society  can  enjoy 
and  use  the  natural  forest. 

It  is  with  the  Bible  just  as  it  is  with  nature,  both 
coming  from  the  same  God.  The  truths  of  religion 
are  found  in  the  Bible,  as  plants  and  minerals  are  found 
in  nature.  The  mineralogist  and  botanist  must  collect 
his  minerals  and  plants  one  by  one,  as  he  finds  them 
here  and  there  scattered  over  the  fields  and  by  the 
hill  side ;  and  he  must  himself,  in  his  cabinet,  systema- 
tize and  arrange  them  in  their  scientific  order,  for  God 
never  does  that.  In  arranging  his  plants  and  mine- 
rals, and  assigning  them  to  their  several  places,  in  their 
several  localities,  God  shows  an  utter  disregard  of 
scientific  order. 

So  the  theologian  must  pick  out  the  truths  of  theol- 
ogy as  he  finds  them  here  and  there  scattered  about 
in  the  Bible ;  and  if  he  wishes  to  arrange  them  in  a 
scientific  liortus  siccus^  he  must  make  it  himself,  for  God 
never  makes  any  such  things. 

VI.  The  Bible  is  not  conformed  to  the  tastes  or  to 
the  intellectual  horizon,  or  to  the  social  or  ethical  stand 
point  of  any  one  age  or  nation  or  race. 

Each  age  and  each  race  is  apt  to  think  itself,  if  not 
the  whole  human  race  at  least  the  most  important  part 
of  it,  and  that  the  Bible  ought  to  be  specially  adapted 


24  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

to  its  own  tastes  and  wants.  But  this  can  not  be.  It 
is  intended  for  the  whole  race,  and  not  for  any  one 
particular  portion  of  it.  Naturally  each  particular 
portion  of  the  book  must  bear  the  impress  of  the  par- 
ticular age  and  nation  in  which  that  portion  originated. 
The  Bible  in  its  origin  is  an  Asiatic  book,  and  there- 
fore it  bears  distinctly,  as  it  should  do,  the  impress  of 
Asiatic  scenery  and  manners ;  and  yet  it  is  remarkable 
for  rising  above  the  local  and  the  temporary,  and  seiz- 
ing on  those  great  principles  which  are  common  to 
human  nature  everywhere,  and  expressing  itself  in 
imagery  universally  understood.  It  describes  the  fer- 
tility of  Palestine  by  the  metaphor  of  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey,  a  pleasing  image  and  one  easily 
apprehended  throughout  almost  the  entire  world  ;  yet 
the  Greenlander  and  the  Esquimaux  would  doubtless 
be  better  pleased  and  have  a  quicker  appreciation  of  the 
metaphor  if  the  image  were  of  a  coast  abounding  with 
whale  oil  and  blubber,  or  walrus  meat — but  why  should 
the  Greenlander  or  Esquimaux,  in  this  respect,  be  grati- 
fied at  the  expense  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world  ?  They 
have  as  much  claim  to  a  special  gratification  as  the 
German  or  the  Frenchman,  tlie  Englishman  or  the 
American,  and  no  more.  The  Song  of  Solomon^ 
indeed,  is  entirely  an  oriental  book,  adapted  to  ori- 
ental tastes ;  the  oriental  religious  j)oetry  is  everywhere 
of  the  same  sort — and  why  should  not  the  orientals 
have  a  page  or  two  of  their  own  book  specially  adapted 
to  themselves? 

VII.  The  Bible  is  not  a  solution  of  the  mysteries 
of  existence,  nor  even  of  the  perplexing  problems 
which  meet  us  in  our  own  every  day  life. 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS     NOT.  25 

The  mystery  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  human 
race,  as  it  is  now  and  as  it  always  has  been  from  the 
first  dawning  of  history — the  question,  how  can  the 
existence  of  so  much  sin  and  misery  so  long  continued 
be  reconciled  with  the  goodness,  the  wisdom  and  the 
power  of  God  ?  this  mystery  finds  no  solution,  this 
question  finds  no  answer  in  the  Bible.  The  Bible 
addresses  itself  to  our  faith  and  commands  us  to  trust 
in  God,  of  whose  goodness,  wisdom  and  power,  it  says, 
we  have  sufficient  proof,  even  if  by  searching  we  can 
not  find  out  the  Almighty  to  perfection.  The  sover- 
eignty of  God,  complete,  unlimited,  how  is  this  recon- 
cilable with  the  complete  free  agency  of  man?  If 
Christ  must  be  sacrificed,  must  there  not  also  be  a 
Judas,  and  a  Caiaphas,  and  a  Pilate;  and  how  then 
are  they  entirely  free  ?  The  Bible  does  not  explain, 
it  only  asserts,  the  fact.  The  existence  of  God  from 
all  eternity,  always,  without  beginning,  what  finite 
mind  can  form  the  conception  of  it  ?  The  Bible  makes 
no  explanations  of  these  perplexing  problems,  nor 
could  we  understand  them  while  in  this  world,  even 
if  it  did,  any  more  than  the  scholar  can  comprehend 
the  differential  calculus  before  he  has  studied  algebra. 

The  events  of  our  own  daily  life,  how  mysterious 
they  often  are  to  us;  why  was  I  thrown  hither  or 
thither  ?  why  did  I  suffer  this  or  that  ?  why  are  my 
circumstances  thus  and  so? — the  Bible  gives  us  no 
information,  but  still  tells  us  to  trust  in  God  and  all 
will  be  well.  We  can  have  faith  always,  but  knowl- 
edge is  often  beyond  our  reach.  An  old  pilot,  peering 
through  a  dense  fog,  once  said  in  my  hearing,  ''I  know 
where  we  are  now  ;  I  see  the  cape  lights."     None  of 


26  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

US  could  see  a  light  house,  nor  anything  else  except 
impenetrable  mist ;  but  we  could  trust  the  practised 
eye  and  the  tried  fidelity  of  our  pilot,  and  in  this  faith 
feel  as  safe  as  if  we  ourselves  had  the  knowledge  or 
sight. 

Is  not  our  blessed  Saviour  as  trustworthy  a  pilot  as 
man  could  ever  sail  with  ?  May  we  not  believe  Him, 
even  when  we  can  not  see  ?  Let  us  first  have  the 
evidence  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  what  he  claims  to  be, 
and  then  trust  in  Him. 

What  then  is  the  Bible  ? 

Vni.  It  is  God's  message  to  honest,  intelligent, 
thoughtful  men,  sent  to  them  by  honest,  intelligent, 
thoughtful  men,  and  a  message  mainly  on  one  particu- 
lar subject,  to  wit,  the  way  of  escaping  from  the  moral 
evils  in  which  we  are  involved,  and  coming  to  the 
enjoyment  of  peace  with  God  and  in  our  own  souls, 
for  time  and  for  eternity. 

If  we  are  lost  in  a  forest,  and  a  man  is  sent  to  help 
us,  we  want  one  that  will  lead  us  out  of  the  forest, 
and  not  take  up  the  time  in  giving  us  lectures  on 
botany. 

It  is  said  that  Solomon  wrote  a  very  large  treatise 
on  botany,  and  I  dare  say  it  was  a  very  good  one,  but 
I  never  heard  that  it  was  ever  received  as  a  part  of 
the  Bible. 

I  was  once  in  a  large  ship  with  some  four  hundred 
souls  on  board ;  and  by  heavy  fogs  and  baffling  winds 
and  adverse  currents,  we  were  drifted  on  to  the  rocky 
shores  of  Nova  Scotia,  without  any  knowledge  of  our 
exact  position.  We  could  not  see  half  the  ship's 
length  in  any  direction  for  the  fog ;  but  we  could  hear 
all  around  us  the  'roar  of  distant  breakers,  and  we 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS.  27 

knew  that  we  were  in  danger.  What  could  we  do  ? 
We  lay  as  still  as  possible  on  the  water,  and  tried  not 
to  move.  We  fired  guns  as  signals  of  distress.  After 
a  while,  by  listening  attentively  between  the  booming 
of  the  guns,  we  could  hear  the  plashing  of  oars  in  the 
distance.  Then  we  fired  the  oftener  that  the  oarsmen 
might  be  guided  by  the  sound.  Presently  two  boats 
filled  with  men  came  alongside.  They  were  strong, 
healthy  looking  men,  but  they  were  not  very  hand- 
some nor  very  well  di'essed.  They  did  not  seem  to 
be  learned  men,  and  I  suppose  they  had  never  studied 
geology,  and  had  formed  no  theory  in  regard  to  the 
formation  of  the  rocks  along  the  shores  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia. But  they  knew  where  the  rocks  were,  and  could 
tell  us  how  to  steer  so  as  to  avoid  them ;  and  we  fol- 
lowed their  directions  and  asked  them  no  questions 
about  geology,  and  got  safe  into  Halifax,  and  lived  to 
study  geology  afterwards  in  the  books  appropriate  for 
that  purpose.     Now  was  not  that  the  right  way  ? 

But  are  there  not  sometimes  in  the  Bible  mistakes 
and  inconsistencies  in  numbers?  and  in  the  names  of 
individuals  and  of  nations? 

Doubtless  literal  and  numeral  errors  can  be  found 
in  all  copies  of  the  Bible.  There  was  never  yet  a 
book  printed  so  carefully  but  there  were  some  typo- 
graphical errors  in  it,  and  the  liability  to  such  errors 
was  much  greater  when  books  were  perpetuated  only 
in  manuscript — and  numbers  and  names  are  the  very 
places  where  such  errors  most  frequently  occur.  The 
Hebrews  were  sometimes  under  idolatrous  kings,  and 
sometimes  in  captivity  to  their  enemies ;  and  then  they 
lost  almost  all  the  copies  of  their  sacred  books.     In 


28  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  scarcely  a  single 
copy  of  the  Pentateuch  could  be  found  in  the  whole 
city  of  Jerusalem.  (II  Kings,  22.)  Their  letters  and 
numerals  in  many  cases  were  very  much  alike  and 
easily  mistaken  for  each  other.  No  wonder  if  in  the 
long  course  of  ages  there  should,  under  such  circum- 
stances, some  errors  in  names  and  numbers  of  little 
importance  to  after  ages  creep  in ;  but  these  no  more 
impair  the  authority  of  the  revelation  than  misprints 
destroy  a  statute  book.  Misprints  may  be  so  numerous 
and  gross,  and  on  points  of  such  importance,  as  to 
destroy  the  usefulness  and  authority  of  a  book — but 
this  certainly  is  not  the  case  with  the  Bible,  nor  with 
the  statute  book  of  any  respectable  human  common- 
wealth. 

Compare  II  Chronicles,  21:  20,  22:  2,  with  II 
Kings,  8 :   26. 

Are  there  not  passages  here  and  there  which  could 
not  have  been  written  at  the  time  and  by  the  authors 
supposed  ? 

The  art  of  bookmaking,  like  all  other  arts,  was  in 
its  beginnings  exceedingly  rude  and  imperfect.  In 
the  times  of  the  Bible  writers  there  were  no  such 
things  as  title  pages,  chapters,  headings,  marginal  notes, 
appendix  or  index.  Books  were  written  full  on  every 
page,  with  lines  of  single  letters  without  any  division 
of  paragraphs,  syllables,  or  even  words — ^just  line  after 
line,  continuous  rows  of  letters,  completely  filling  the 
page,  without  any  divisions  whatever.  Of  course 
what  modern  writers  would  put  into  a  title  or  heading, 
a  foot  note,  or  an  appendix,  or  index,  in  ancient  wri- 
tings comes  right  in  as  a  part  of  the  original  page. 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS.  29 

Here  is  all  the  ground  there  is  for  the  objection  stated. 
The  passages  objected  to  are  just  the  foot  notes  of  a 
subsequent  editor,  and  not  forgeries  or  fraudulent 
interpolations. 

But  does  not  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  come  in 
direct  collision  with  the  well  ascertained  facts  of  geo- 
logical science?  No.  Understand  first  the  purpose 
of  Moses  and  his  mode  of  writing,  and  you  will  see 
that  there  neither  is  nor  can  be  any  collision  between 
him  and  science  of  any  kind.  The  Bible  does  not 
state,  and  never  professes  to  state,  scientific  facts  in 
scientific  forms,  but  only  phenomena,  or  appearances 
to  the  eye  of  a  spectator.  For  example,  that  the  earth 
revolves  on  its  axis  from  west  to  east  once  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  thus  producing  day  and  night,  is  a  scien- 
tific fiict ;  this  the  Bible  never  states,  nor  even  alludes 
to.  Indeed  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  writers  of  the 
Bible  knew  anything  about  it,  for  "inspiration  is  not 
omniscience."  That  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  and  passes 
along  in  the  heavens  till  he  sets  in  the  west,  is  a  phe- 
nomenon, an  appearance  to  the  human  eye,  and  this 
and  this  only  is  what  the  Bible  speaks  of,  just  as 
in  the  language  of  common  life  and  common  sense 
everywhere,  both  among  the  learned  and  unlearned. 
While  the  statements  of  the  Bible  are  true  to  the  phe- 
nomena, the  appearances,  they  are  right,  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  scientific  facts,  and  can  not 
come  in  collision  with  them,  any  more  than  the  decis- 
ions of  a  judge  in  the  supreme  court  can  come  in  col- 
lision with  the  governor's  coach ;  for  the  two  subjects 
are  not  of  the  same  kind,  they  belong  to  two  entirely 
different  spheres  of  thought,  they  do  not  travel  at  all 


30  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

on  the  same  road ;  and  liow  can  they  come  in  collision  ? 
A  decision  of  a  judge  can  come  in  collision  with  an 
act  of  the  legislature ;  and  a  farmer's  wagon  may  come 
in  collision  with  the  governor's  coach ;  but  there  is 
and  can  be  no  collision  crosswise  from  one  sphere  of 
objects  to  another. 

To  interpret  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  as  a  geo- 
logical essay,  and  to  attempt  to  remove  from  it,  by 
scientific  methods,  geological  difficulties,  seems  to  me 
like  interpreting  the  parable  of  the  sower  as  an  agri- 
cultural essay,  and  attempting  to  avoid  the  difficulty 
that  fowls  of  the  air  devoured  only  the  seed  that  fell 
by  the  way  side,  by  learned  inquiries  as  to  whether 
birds  in  ancient  times  could  fly  over  fences,  and  whether 
they  w^ere  not  obliged  to  keep  the  road,  and  solemnly 
imagining  the  sustaining  of  the  latter  supposition  to 
be  essential  to  the  vindication  of  the  truthfulness  of 
Christ  as  a  religious  teacher.  How  much  better  to 
look  at  the  simple  fact  just  as  it  existed,  to  wit,  that 
in  the  eastern  countries,  as  now  in  Germany  and  France, 
the  farms  were  seldom  fenced,  and  the  fields  for  the 
most  part  were  guarded  by  old  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  away  the  birds  as  well 
as  the  cattle — and  this  practice  very  generally  obtains 
in  those  countries  at  the  present  day,  simply  because 
that  there  old  men,  women  and  children  are  cheaper 
tlian  fencing  stuff  In  the  interpretation  of  so  plain 
and  homely  a  book  as  the  Bible,  a  knowledge  of  the 
facts  and  good  common  sense  are  generally  much  bet- 
ter guides  than  scientific  ingenuity  or  metaphysical 
subtil ty.  Everything  to  its  appropriate  use.  I  would 
not  take  a  broad  axe  to  mend  a  pen  Avitli,  nor  a  })eu 
knife  to  hew  ship  timber 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS.  31 

The  Bible  was  not  written  with  reference  to  science 
or  philosophy,  but  with  reference  to  the  feelings  ar»d 
impressions  and  needs  of  the  great  masses  of  mankind, 
and  they  are  neither  scientific  men  nor  philosophers. 

Moses  in  the  six  days  work  of  the  creation,  gives  an 
account  of  the  fitting  up  of  our  planetary  system  for 
its  present  race  of  inhabitants  ;  and  intends  to  show  in 
opposition  to  the  pantheistic,  polytheistic  and  atheistic 
cosmologies  of  ancient  times,  that  all  existing  things 
are  the  work  of  one  and  the  same  self-existent,  self- 
conscious  and  intelligent  God.  According  to  the 
analogy  of  all  revelation,  these  transactions  were  not 
narrated  to  him  in  words  for  him  to  write  them  down 
as  he  heard  them,  but  he  saw  the  transactions  all  pass- 
ing before  his  eyes  in  prophetic,  or  rather  ecstatic,  vis- 
ion, and  he  wrote  them  down  just  as  he  saw  them. 
Like  all  popular  descriptions  the  language  is  phenom- 
enal, the  events  are  described  as  they  would  meet  the 
eye  of  a  spectator,  and  not  at  all  in  accordance  with 
the  scientific  verities.  Each  day  begins  a  process 
wdiich  goes  on  indefinitely,  which  is  going  on  still; 
and  no  one  day  completes  the  process  even  of  that 
day.  It  was  not  till  the  third  day  that  the  sun  became 
the  great  luminary  of  the  system.  Light  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  sun  even  now ;  it  exists  of  itself,  and  en- 
tirely independent  of  the  sun.  And  who  knows,  so 
as  with  authority  to  contradict  Moses  on  this  point, 
that  the  sun  did  become  the  luminary  of  the  system 
before  the  third  day,  or  that  before  the  sun  became 
the  luminary  of  the  system  a  day  must  be  just  twenty- 
four  of  our  hours,  neither  more  nor  less ;  or  that  the 
order  of  the  origin  of  things  is  not  the  order  which 


32  THEBOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Moses  has  given ;  or  that  if  there  had  been  a  spectator 
of  the  scene,  the  successive  appearances  to  his  eye, 
would  not  have  been  in  accordance  with  the  Mosaic 
description  ?  Many  of  the  most  eminent  of  scientific 
men  have  asserted  that  they  must  have  been  so — and 
what  scientific  man  has  yet  demonstrated  that  they 
could  not  so  have  been  ? 

But  after  all,  remember,  and  the  idea  can  not  be  too 
strongly  enforced,  that  inspiration  is  not  omniscience. 
The  apostle  Paul  could  write  the  epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, but  he  never  knew  how  to  make  a  steam  engine 
or  run  a  locomotive.  The  apostle  John,  lovely  as  he 
appears  in  his  gospel,  and  magnificent  as  he  truly  is  in 
the  apocalypse,  never  knew  how  to  make  a  watch  or 
construct  a  kaleidoscope.  There  are  men  now  in 
every  city  of  Christendom,  who,  though  very  poorly 
qualified  to  be  religious  instructors  and  explain  the 
ways  of  God  to  men,  can  make  electrical  machines  and 
construct  steam  engines,  and  manage  the  magnetic 
telegraph  better  than  all  the  twelve  apostles  put 
together ;  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  believe  that  Moses 
knew  nothing  at  all  of  the  science  of  geology. 

Look  not  into  the  Bible  for  what  God  never  put  in 
it — look  not  there  for  mathematics  or  mechanics,  for 
metaphysical  distinctions  or  the  abstruse  sciences  ;  but 
look  there  simply  for  the  way  of  spiritual  life  and 
salvation,  and  you  will  find  enough,  an  abundance  for 
all  your  spiritual  needs. 

I  can  select  two  chapters  from  the  New  Testament, 
and  if  all  the  Bible  were  lost  excejDt  these  two  chap- 
ters, they  alone,  if  we  could  be  assured  of  their  truth, 
would  guide  us  safely  through  all  the  darkness  and 


WHAT     THE     BIBLE     IS.  33 

sorrow  of  this  life,  and  bring  us  to  the  haven  of  light 
and  peace  above.  The  two  chapters-  to  which  I  refer 
are  the  third  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

If  of  all  the  Bible  we  had  only  these  two  chapters 
left  to  us,  and  we  could  be  assured  that  they  are 
from  God,  and  of  divine  authority,  they  alone  would 
be  sufficient  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  life,  and  cheer 
us  with  the  most  glowing  and  glorious  hopes.  The 
long  continued,  unalleviated  distresses  of  mankind 
sometimes  fill  us  with  painful  doubts  as  to  the  nature 
and  purposes  of  our  Creator ;  but  here  in  the  third 
chapter  of  John  it  is  explicitly  declared,  "  For  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into 
the  world  to  condemn  the  world ;  but  that  the  world 
through  him  might  be  saved."  Whatever  may  be  the 
difficulty,  then,  it  is  certainly  no  want  of  love  on  the 
part  of  our  Heavenly  Father. 

When  we  look  away  from  the  world  around  us,  and 
turn  our  thoughts  within  upon  ourselves,  we  see  that 
we  are  in  ruins.  We  long  for  a  virtue  which  we  have 
not,  and  see  no  way  of  attaining.  What,  then,  are  we 
lost  ?  No,  for  in  this  same  chapter,  we  are  told  of  an 
inward  regeneration,  a  new  birth,  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  brings  us  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  at  the  same  time,  of  an  outward  regeneration 
by  water  baptism,  which  brings  us  into  God's  visible 
church  on  earth,  which  establishes  a  covenant  relation 
between  Him  and  us,  and  gives  us  all  the  advantages 
of  such  a  relation.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
3 


34  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Except  a  man  be  born  again  he  can  not  see  the  king- 
dom of  God.  Nicodemus  saith  unto  him,  How  can  a 
man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  can  he  enter  the  second 
time  into  his  mother^'s  womb,  and  be  born  ?  Jesus 
answered.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not 
enter  into  the  kins-dom  of  God.  That  which  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh ;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the 
Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  thee.  Ye 
must  be  born  again.  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  list- 
eth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not 
tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth;  so  is 
every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  But  are  these 
advantages  reserved  for  a  distant  future,  or  can  we 
have  a  present  realization  of  them?  The  eighth  of 
Romans  tells  us,  "  There  is  therefore  now  no  condem- 
nation to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk 
not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the  Spirit.  For  the  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."  But  how  far  may 
these  blessings  be  extended  ?  Are  they  confined  within 
narrow  limits  ?  Do  they  include  only  a  few  ?  Let  us 
hear.  "  For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groan- 
eth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now.  And 
not  only  they,  but  ourselves  also,  which  have  the  first 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  within 
ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemp- 
tion of  our  body.  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of 
God.  For  the  creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity, 
not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected 
the  same  in  hope ;  Because  the  creature  itself  also  shall 


HOW     TO     USE     THE     BIBLE.  35 

be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God."  Here  then 
is  enough  for  our  salvation  and  our  comfort,  if  we  will 
but  take  it  aright.  How  much  more  when  we  have 
all  the  riches  of  the  whole  Bible ! 

Yet  there  are  men  who  would  deprive  us  of  our 
Bible.  On  the  most  frivolous  pretexts,  by  the  most 
groundless  objections,  they  would  rob  us  of  the  com- 
forts of  the  divine  word,  and  give  us  nothing  in  their 
place.     As  a  recent  writer  has  well  remarked,* 

"  Weary  human  nature  lays  its  head  on  the  bosom 
of  the  Divine  Word,  or  it  has  nowhere  to  lay  its  head. 
Tremblers  on  the  verge  of  the  dark  and  terrible  val- 
ley, which  parts  the  land  of  the  living  from  the  untried 
hereafter,  take  this  hand  of  human  tenderness  yet  x)f 
godlike  strength,  or  they  totter  into  the  gloom  with- 
out prop  or  stay.  They  who  look  their  last  upon  the 
beloved  dead,  listen  to  this  voice'  of  soothing  and 
peace,  or  else  death  is  no  uplifting  of  everlasting 
doors,  and  no  enfolding  in  everlasting  arms,  but  an 
ending  as  appalling  to  the  reason  as  to  the  senses,  the 
usher  to  a  charnel  house  whose  highest  faculties  and 
noblest  feelings  lie  crushed  with  the  animal  wreck,  an 
infinite  tragedy,  maddening  and  sickening,  a  blackness 
of  darkness  forever." 

The  Bible  has  various  and  infinite  adaptations. 
Some  portions  are  better  understood  in  some  parts  of 
the  world  than  in  others.  Some  parts  were  better 
understood  in  the  past  than  now — and  other  parts  will 
be  better  understood  in  the  future  than  ever  before — 
while  again  there    are  other  portions  more   closely 

*  Reply  to  Essays  and  Reviews,  p.  340-41,  English  edition. 


36  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

adapted  to  the  present  times  than  to  any  other  portion 
of  the  world's  history — for  it  was  written  not  for  any 
one  age  or  nation,  but  equally  for  all  ages  and  nations 
— and  with  a  divine  foreknowledge  of  all  these  needs 
and  adaptations. 

Says  Lord  Bacon : 

"  The  Scriptures  being  written  to  the  thoughts  of 
men,  and  to  the  succession  of  all  ages,  with  a  foresight 
of  heresies,  contradictions,  differing  estates  of  the 
church,  yea,  and  particularly  of  the  elect,  are  not  to 
be  interpreted  only  according  to  the  latitude  of  the 
proper  sense  of  the  place,  and  respectively  toward 
that  present  occasion  when  the  words  were  utter- 
ed, or  in  precise  congruity  or  contexture  with  the 
words  before  or  after,  or  in  contemplation  of  the  pres- 
ent scope  of  the  place  ;  but  have  in  themselves,  not 
only  totally  or  collectively,  but  distributively  in  clauses 
and  words,  infinite  springs  and  streams  of  doctrine,  to 
water  the  church  in  every  part ;  and  therefore,  as  the 
literal  sense  is,  as  it  were,  the  main  stream  or  river, 
so  the  moral  sense  chiefly,  and  sometimes  the  alle- 
gorical or  typical  are  those  whereof  the  church  hath 
most  use ;  not  that  I  wish  men  to  be  bold  in  allegories, 
or  indulge  delight  in  allusions ;  but  that  I  much  con- 
demn that  interpretation  of  Scripture  which  is  only 
after  the  manner  as  men  use  to  interpret  a  profane 
book." 

And  again  this  same  great  philosopher  speaks  of  "  a 
latitude  which  is  agreeable  and  flimiliar  unto  the  divine 
prophecies,  being  of  the  nature  of  their  author,  with 
whom  a  thousand  years  are  but  as  one  day ;  therefore 
they  are  not  fulfilled  punctually  at  once,  but  have  spring- 


HOW     TO     USE     THE     BIBLE.  37 

ing  and  germinant  accomplisliment  throughout  many- 
ages,  though  the  height  or  fuhiess  of  them  may  refer  to 
some  one  age."     (Advancement  of  learning,  B.  ii.) 

This  book  should  be  read  daily  and  not  too  much  at 
a  time,  with  the  expectation  of  finding  in  it  that  and 
that  only  w^hich  God  has  put  in  it.  It  should  be  read 
with  thoughtfulness,  with  honesty,  with  reverence  and 
with  prayer.  And  it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  God  saves  us  by  His  Word  and  by  His  Spirit, 
neither  without  the  other,  neither  by  the  Word  without 
the  Spirit,  nor  ordinarily  by  the  Spirit  without  the 
Word ;  but  usually  by  both  together  in  harmonious 
and  inseparable  co-operation. 


CHAPTER    SECOND. 

THE     KIND     OF     EVIDENCE    ON    WHICH    WE    RECEIVE     THE 
BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Doubtless  to  the  great  body  of  Christian  believers, 
the  chief  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  New  Testament 
is  the  moral  evidence ;  that  is,  they  feel  within  them- 
selves urgent  moral  needs,  irrepressible  spiritual  aspi- 
rations ;  these  needs  and  aspirations  are  all  supplied 
and  satisfied  by  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament : 
these  books  they  feel  are  just  what  the  human  soul 
wants,  and  He  who  made  the  soul  and  knows  its  wants 
would  naturally  aiford  the  appropriate  supply.  While 
in  the  exercise  of  true  devotional  feeling,  the  devout 
Christian  no  more  needs  an  external  proof  of  the  truth 
and  divinity  of  the  New  Testament,  than  Elijah  needed 
a  metaphysical  proof  of  the  existence  of  God  when 
he  was  ascending  to  heaven  in  his  fiery  chariot.  This 
is  as  it  should  be,  and  this  is  the  very  highest  kind  of 
proof  All  men  need  revealed  religion,  but  very  few 
indeed  have  the  power  or  opportunity  to  make  the 
external  evidences  of  revealed  religion  a  study. 

Yet  this  moral  proof  is  available  only  to  the  indi- 
vidual himself,  and  he  can  not  make  it  evidence  to 
another.  And  to  the  most  devotional  there  come 
hours  of  mental  darkness,  when  assaults  seem  formida- 
ble and  faith  is  easily  shaken  from  without  and  will 


40  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

be  likely  to  fail  unless  strongly  fortified  on  external 
grounds.  Hence  discussions  of  the  external  evidences 
of  revealed  religion,  adapted  to  the  various  shapes 
which  objections  assume  in  different  ages  and  circum- 
stances, will  always  be  necessary.  The  old  defences 
will  not  answer  for  the  new  assailants,  either  as  regards 
the  believers  or  the  unbelievers,  or  those  who  are 
simply  doubtful  and  inquiring. 

The  question  which  is  now  most  perplexing  to  those 
who  have  time  to  read,  but  neither  time  nor  means 
for  thorough  study,  is  this :  How  is  it  that  there  are 
such  dive,  si  ties  of  opinion  as  to  the  genuineness  of 
the  books  of  the  New  Testament  ?  So  many  dif- 
ferent hypotheses  as  to  the  authors  of  the  sacred  books, 
and  all  maintained  by  arguments  more  or  less  plausi- 
ble ?  The  very  fact  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment can  be  subjected  to  such  treatment  seems  of 
itself,  to  some  minds,  to  throw  a  shade  of  doubt  over 
the  evidence  of  their  genuineness  and  authority.  A 
well-known  school  of  German  writers  began  more  than 
half  a  century  since  by  denying  the  authenticity  of 
the  book  of  Revelation,  and  now,  after  having  gone 
through  with  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
placed  all  the  other  books  a  century  or  two  later  than 
the  authors  to  whom,  by  Christian  antiquity,  they  have 
been  ascribed,  they  have  at  length  come  round  to  the 
conclusion,  I  believe  with  entire  unanimity,  that  the 
book  of  Ptcvelation  is  a  genuine  relic,  and  possibly  the 
only  genuine  relic  of  the  very  first  age  of  the  Christian 
church. 

How  is  it  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  can 
be  subjected  to  such  treatment?     The  answer  is  very 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   41 

simple.  It  is  done  by  ignoring  or  rejecting  all  exter- 
nal testimony  in  regard  to  these  books,  and  judging 
of  them  by  the  critic's  own  subjective  views  of  the 
internal  evidence  only.  Any  modern  works,  subjected 
to  the  same  kind  of  criticism,  would  be  lost  in  the 
same  diversity  and  uncertainty.  For  example,  the 
letters  of  Junius  are  deficient  in  external  testimony  as 
to  their  authorship.  The  consequence  has  been  an 
endless  diversity  of  opinion  on  this  subject,  innumera- 
ble hypotheses,  all  sustained  with  more  or  less  of  acute- 
ness  and  plausibility  from  internal  evidence,  and  to 
this  day  there  is  an  entire  uncertainty. 

Sir  Walter  Scott's  novels  were  at  first  published 
anonymously,  there  was  no  external  testimony  as  to 
their  authorship ;  the  public  was  left  to  internal  evi- 
dence only ;  the  consequence  was  an  endless  diversity 
of  opinion,  different  hypotheses  sustained  by  argu- 
ment of  equal  degrees  of  plausibility,  and  an  entire 
uncertainty;  until  Sir  Walter  himself  avowed  the 
authorship,  his  publishers  confirmed  it,  and  thus  the 
requisite  external  testimony  was  supplied ;  and  since 
then  there  has  been  no  doubt.  And  if  such  be  the 
case  where  we  are  well  acquainted  with  the  writers, 
and  with  the  history  and  literature  of  the  period,  how 
much  more  emphatically  must  it  be  true  where  we 
know  almost  nothing  of  the  literature  of  the  period 
and  place  except  by  the  books  themselves  which  are 
in  question.  It  is  as  easy  by  such  a  method  to  call  in 
question,  to  assign  to  various  authors,  to  maintain  by 
plausible  arguments  discordant  hypotheses  in  regard 
to  the  products  of  modern  literature  as  in  regard 
to   the   books   of  the  New  Testament.      In   respect 


42  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

to  Robertson's  History  of  Charles  Y.,  or  Milton's  Para- 
dise Lost,  how  do  we  know  that  these  works  belong 
to  the  authors  named  ?  By  external  testimony  and 
by  external  testimony  only.  Reject  this  or  discredit 
it,  put  no  faith  in  it,  and  we  are  all  at  sea  in  regard  to 
every  literary  production  of  every  period  of  the  world. 
Combined  with  external  testimony  internal  evidence 
has  an  important  place  and  use ;  but  as  to  that  alone, 
it  is  like  a  sail  without  mast  or  cordage,  it  can  indeed 
be  blown  away  by  the  wind,  but  it  can  never  move  or 
stay  a  ship.  How  much  more  is  all  this  true  of  the 
books  ascribed  to  the  apostles  and  evangelists,  to 
Matthew  and  Mark,  to  Luke  and  John,  to  Paul  and 
Peter,  or  any  other  of  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment !  Who  knows  enough  of  the  literature  or  of  the 
persons  of  that  period  and  class  of  writers  to  decide, 
for  example,  that  a  certain  book  ascribed  to  Paul  was 
written  by  Apollos?  Who  knows  anything,  indeed, 
except  from  the  books  themselves,  of  the  mental  char- 
acteristics of  Paul  or  Apollos  ?  It  is  often  impossible, 
by  internal  evidence  alone,  to  assign  even  the  age  of 
a  book,  much  less  its  author.  We  may  sometimes 
prove  by  internal  evidence  only,  that  a  certain  book 
does  not  belong  to  a  particular  period,  if,  for  example, 
positive  anachronisms  are  woven  into  the  structure  of 
the  work,  allusions  to  things  which  did  not  then  exist, 
or  to  events  which  had  not  then  occurred,  (except 
where  we  admit  the  prophetic  gift,  or  can  show  that 
the  allusions  are  by  a  later  hand,)  but  it  is  not  so  easy 
to  decide  by  internal  evidence  alone  to  what  period 
exactly  a  particular  work  does  belong.  Many  exam- 
ples are  on  record  of  gross  mistakes  in  this  regard. 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.    43 

About  forty  years  since  Dr.  Wilhelm  Meinholcl  of  the 
island  of  Rugen,  published  his  celebrated  novel  of  the 
Amber  Witch.  It  purported  to  be  the  copy  of  an 
old  manuscript  found  in  a  church  there,  and  written 
by  a  clergyman  of  the  time  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 
Critics  who  could  decide  from  internal  evidence  alone 
that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  could  not  have 
been  written  earlier  than  the  second  or  third  centuries 
of  the  christian  era,  were  very  easily  deceived  by  the 
Amber  Witch,  and  pronounced  it  a  genuine  produc- 
tion of  the  period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  being 
two  centuries  out  of  the  way  in  both  cases. 

But  is  there  not  a  lack  of  external  testimony  in 
regard  to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  so  that 
we  are  obliged  to  rely  on  internal  evidence  alone, 
vague  as  it  is,  for  want  of  something  better?  No, 
there  is  no  deficiency  of  this  kind ;  the  external  testi- 
mony is  abundant,  more  than  we  have  for  any  other 
ancient  book  whatever,  more  than  we  have  for  most 
modern  books.  The  English  writer.  Dr.  Nathaniel 
Lardner,  and  the  German,  John  Kirchhofer,  have  in 
their  works  drawn  out  this  testimony  with  great  mi- 
nuteness of  detail,  and  full  quotations  of  passages  ;  and 
a  very  good  outline,  exhibiting  the  nature  and  quality 
of  this  testimony,  is  given  by  Dr.  Paley  in  his  Evidences, 
chapter  IX.  Many  of  the  early  Christian  writings 
which  contained  the  external  testimony  to  the  genu- 
ineness of  our  sacred  books,  are  now  lost ;  but  many 
of  them  are  also  preserved:  and  of  those  which  are 
lost,  we  have  passages  which  we  need  on  this  sub- 
ject quoted  in  full  by  Eusebius. 

Eusebius  is  a  very  important  witness  in  the  whole 
matter  of    Christian  evidence,  and  therefore  he  is  gen- 


44  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

erally  the  first  object  of  attack  among  unbelievers  and 
skeptics. 

With  others  also  he  fares  hard,-  and  can  hardly  ex- 
pect exact  justice,  for  the  ultra  orthodox  dislike  him 
on  account  of  his  mildness  and  aversion  to  severe  treat- 
ment of  theological  opponents,  and  the  ultra  protest- 
ants  on  account  of  his  willing  acceptance  of  the  eccle- 
siastical organization  that  had  begun  to  prevail  before 
his  birth,  and  was  fully  established  by  Constantine. 

It  is  necessary  then  that  we  should  give  some  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  this  man  and  his  opportunities  of 
knowledge,  and  his  credibility  as  a  witness,  which  has 
been  so  bitterly  impugned.  He  was  the  bishop  of  the 
church  at  Caesarea,  in  Palestine,  at  the  close  of  the 
third  and  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  and  he  became  the  personal  friend  and  eccle- 
siastical adviser  of  Constantine,  after  that  emperor  had 
embraced  Christianity.  In  that  church  at  Caesarea 
before  A.  D.  300,  there  was  a  remarkable  man  who 
seemed  raised  up  by  Providence  to  do  just  the  work 
in  regard  to  the  Christian  books  which  was  needed  for 
that  and  all  subsequent  time.     This  was  Pamphilus. 

If  there  ever  was  a  special  providence  here  was  one, 
for  if  the  work  had  not  then  been  done  it  never  could 
have  been  done  afterwards.  Pamphilus  was  the  intimate 
bosom  friend  of  his  pastor,  Eusebius,  so  that  it  was 
said  by  their  contemporaries  that  there  seemed  to  be 
but  one  soul  between  them  both,  and  Eusebius  gave 
to  himself  the  surname  of  Pamphilus,  after  the  name 
of  this  friend.  This  Pamphilus  had  a  great  passion 
for  collecting  books,  the  books  written  by  Christians ; 
and  every  scrap  of  Christian  literature  down  to  his 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT    45 

own  time,  which  he  could  find,  he  laid  hold  of  and 
stored  it  away  in  his  library.  He  was  to  the  Christians 
of  that  age  very  much  what  the  late  Thomas  Dowse 
was  to  his  literary  neighbors  in  Cambridge.  When 
there  was  a  Christian  book  which  he  could  neither 
purchase  nor  beg  for  his  library,  he  would  laboriously 
copy  it  entire  with  his  own  hand.  In  this  w^ay,  by 
copying  them  himself,  he  became  possessed  of  all  the 
folios  of  the  works  of  Origen,  which  were  then  very 
difficult  to  be  obtained.  He  died  early  the  death  of 
a  martyr,  and  bequeathed  his  entire  library  to  the 
church  at  Caesarea,  (as  Mr.  Dowse  did  his  to  the  Mass- 
achusetts Historical  Society ;)  and  Eusebius,  his  pastor, 
all  his  life  long  had  the  use  of  it.  Eusebius  was  a 
voracious  reader  and  voluminous  writer,  as  hungry  to 
read  and  write  books  as  Pamphilus  had  been  to  pur- 
chase and  own  them.  Thus  Eusebius  became  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  everything  pertaining  to  the 
Christian  literature  of  the  first  three  centuries,  and 
was  well  qualified  to  give  testimony  in  regard  to  all 
the  Christian  books  of  that  period.  This  testimony  is 
given  very  copiously  in  his  historical  writings,  which 
are  still  extant  and  tolerably  complete.  He  was  not  a 
bigoted  churchman,  he  was  not  rigidly  orthodox,  he 
rather  leaned  towards  Arianism,  and  on  all  theological 
and  ecclesiastical  questions  he  was  inclined  to  take  the 
liberal  side ;  and  he  shows  no  disposition  to  exagge- 
rate the  number  or  the  value  of  the  Christian  sacred 
books,  but  quite  the  contrary.  His  testimony,  there- 
fore, especially  where  it  is  in  favor  of  a  book,  is  clearly 
unexceptionable ;  and  the  many  literal  quotations  which 
he  makes  o,n  this  topic  from  early  Christian  writings, 


46  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

now  lost,  are  altogether  invaluable.     But  it  is  said  that 
Eusebius,  though  a  man  of  great  learning  and  indus- 
try, and  on  the  whole  reasonably  honest,  was  credu- 
lous, vain  and  weak,  a  flatterer  of  Constantine,  and 
therefore  not  a  reliable  witness.     Granting  that  these 
were  the  faults  of  Eusebius,  it  would  not  materially 
affect  his  testimony  on  the  particular  points  for  which 
we  here  use  it.     The  genuineness  of  this  or  that  sacred 
book  was  not  generally  a  question  on  which  he  had 
any  prejudices  or  interests  to  subserve,  as  is  perfectly 
evident  from  his  writings;  and  it  was  not  a  matter 
which  could  usually  affect  the  accuracy  of  his  quota 
tions  from  preceding  authors.     Allowing  that  he  was 
very  much  such  a  kind  of  man  as  Cotton  Mather  (and 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  in  many  respects  he  was), 
yet  Mather  is  a  very  important  authority  in  the  early 
history  of  New  England,  and  though  a  very  poor  wit- 
ness on  some  subjects,  is  a  perfectly  reliable  one  on 
others.     Mather,  on  account  of  his  credulity  and  his 
prejudice  in  respect  to  those  particular  subjects,  is  a 
poor  witness  in  regard  to  papists,  and  heretics,  and 
witches,  and  wonderful  providences,    and  the   like ; 
but  who  can  impeach  his  testimony  or  dispense  with  it 
on  such  topics  as  the  pastors  and  members  of  the  early 
churches  in  Boston,  the  books  which  they  wrote  and 
approved,  the  meeting  of  the  synod  at  Cambridge, 
and  the  articles  and  platform  there  adopted,  the  foun- 
ders and  first  graduates  of  Harvard   College,   etc.? 
And  who  will  dispute  the  general  accuracy  of  the  numer- 
ous quotations  from  other  authors  which  are  found  in 
his  writings?     On  all  such  points  Mather  is  a  reliable 
witness,  and  it  is  on  such  points  as  these  that  we  use 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   47 

his  authority  in  the  early  New  England  history,  and  our 
early  history  would  be  meagre  and  bare  indeed  with- 
out him.  It  is  precisely  on  points  like  these  that  we 
use  the  authority  of  Eusebius  in  early  church  history, 
and  especially  in  regard  to  the  Christian  sacred  books ; 
on  such  points  he  is  a  reliable  witness;  and  if  we 
throw  him  out,  we  must,  like  the  Tuebingen  critics, 
rely  on  our  imagination  for  many  of  our  most  impor- 
tant facts.  Reject  Eusebius,  and  what  have  we  for  a 
history  of  the  Christian  churches  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies, or  of  the  books  used  as  Scripture  in  those 
churches  ?  Eusebius  is  in  the  main  a  reliable  witness, 
as  much  so  certainly  as  the  great  body  of  historians, 
ancient  or  modern  ;  where  other  testimony  is  accessi- 
ble his  historical  statements  are  generally  borne  out 
by  it,  and  where  we  have  opportunity  to  compare  his 
quotations  with  the  authors  themselves  we  generally 
find  them  correct.  I  know  of  but  one  exception.  It  is 
alleged  that  in  one  passage  he  wilfully  misquotes  Jose- 
phus.  Let  us  examine  this  allegation.  Josephus,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  the  death  of  Herod,  says  he  saw 
just  before  he  expired  an  owl  sitting  on  a  rope  above 
him  a  messenger  (nyyElog,  angel^)  of  evil  tidings  to  him 
as  it  had  before,  when  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome, 
been  a  messenger  of  good.  Eusebius,  in  quoting  the 
passage,  omits  the  word  ^ov^wva,  owl,  and  retains  only 
ayyeXo;,  aiigel  ov  messenger,  and  for  this  he  is  accused  of 
falsehood,  and  his  credibility  throughout  hotly  assailed. 
But  Eusebius,  certainly,  and  Josephus,  probably,  re- 
garded the  appearance  not  as  the  natural  bird,  but  as 
a  supernatural  messenger  or  angel  in  the  form  of  the 
bird,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  assumed  the  form  of  a  dove : 


48  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

and  if  so,  lie  gives  the  exact  sense  of  Joseplius  if  not 
all  his  words.  Moreover  if  he  has  misquoted  by  the 
omission  of  a  word,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  what 
other  historian,  ancient  or  modern,  as  voluminous 
as  he,  has  not  been  many  times  guilty  of  errors 
even  graver  than  this?  Very  few  of  our  popular 
historians,  if  subjected  to  so  severe  a  test,  would 
escape  so  well  as  Eusebius ;  and  are  they  to  be  set 
down  as  utterly  unworthy  of  credit  on  all  topics  on 
account  of  these  occasional  errors  ?  Is  Macaulay  to 
be  wholly  discredited  on  account  of  his  blunders,  ob- 
stinate and  wilful  as  they  would  seem  to  be,  in  regard 
to  William  Penn,  or  his  scarcely  less  inexcusable  mis- 
representations of  Lord  Bacon  and  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough ?  Is  Hume  to  be  regarded  as  utterly  untruth- 
ful, and  rejected  as  false  on  all  subjects,  on  account 
of  his  inexcusably  mendacious  statements  in  respect 
to  Cromwell  ?  Read,  especially  in  the  Greek,  the  pas- 
sages referred  to,  in  Eusebius'  Eccl.  Hist.,  II.  10,  and 
Josephus'  Antiq.,  XVIII.  6:  7,  and  XIX.  8:2;  and 
compare  with  them  the  one-sided,  and  unreasonable 
criticisms  of  Alford  in  his  Com.  on  Acts  XII,  2. 

Dr.  Schaflf,  in  his  truly  learned  History  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Church  (p.  52)  bears  the  following  noble  and 
truthful  testimony  to  Eusebius  as  a  historian.  "  The 
title  father  of  church  history  belongs  undoubtedly  to 
the  learned,  candid  and  moderate  Eusebius, — in  the 
same  sense  in  which  Herodotus  is  called  the  father  of 
profane  history." 

"  His  mild  disposition,  love  of  peace,  and  aversion 
to  doctrinal  controversies  and  exclusive  formulas  of 
orthodoxy,  have  brought  upon  him  the  suspicion  of 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT    49 

having  favored  the  Arian  or  Semi-Arian  heresy ;  but 
without  sufficient  foundation.  It  is  certain  that  he 
signed  the  symbol  of  Nice,  and  at  least  substantially 
agreed  to  it ;  though  for  himself  he  preferred  the 
lower  terminology  of  his  favorite  Origen  concerning 
the  divinity  of  Christ." 

Such  is  the  deliberate  judgment  of  a  Protestant  of 
well  known  candor  and  erudition ;  but  many  so-called 
Protestants  are  in  the  habit  of  treating  the  testimony 
not  only  of  Eusebius  but  of  all  the  early  Christians, 
subsequent  to  the  apostolic  age,  as  if  it  were  utterly 
worthless,  and  not  at  all  to  be  relied  upon  in  making 
up  a  judgment  on  any  subject.  This  is  doubtless  a  reac- 
tion from  the  half  deification  of  the  primitive  church 
fathers  by  the  Catholics ;  but  it  is  no  less  false  and 
no  less  misleading  than  that  opposite  .extreme.  If  the 
men  who  successfully  achieved  such  a  revolution  as 
was  the  triumph  of  the  Christian  religion  against  such 
odds  as  the  entire  force  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  litera- 
ture, and  the  whole  power,  civil  and  military,  of  the 
Roman  empire,  at  the  cost  of  peace,  prosperity,  repu- 
tation, even  of  life  itself,  in  the  face  of  every  possible 
danger,  deprivation,  distress  and  torture — a  moral 
revolution  by  purely  moral  mea,ns,  of  the  most  thorough 
and  tremendous  character  that  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed— if,  I  say,  the  men  who  did  all  this  were  triflers 
and  liars,  and  unworthy  of  belief,  incompetent  to  give 
testimony  on  the  plainest  matters  of  fact,  then  surely  this 
must  have  been  the  strangest,  the  most  unaccountable 
of  all  the  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  world.  To  say 
the  very  least  of  it,  the  testimony  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians, in  regard  to  their  own  affairs,  is  as  good  and  as 
worthy  of  belief  as  any  human  testimony  whatever, 
4 


50  THEBOOKSOFTHEBIBLE. 

But  it  is  sometimes  sneeringly  said,  that  it  was  the 
divine  power  and  not  the  human  which  established 
Christianity  in  the  world.  True,  but  when  God  has  a 
great  and  good  work  to  be  done  in  His  church  He  does 
not  select  fools  and  knaves  to  do  it.  He  selects  men  to 
do  His  work  who  have  the  natural  capacities  and  the 
acquired  abilities  to  do  exactly  the  work  which  is  to 
be  done.  It  was  so  in  the  great  German  reformation, 
it  was  so  in  the  great  Puritan  revolution  in  England, 
it  was  so  in  the  great  Wesleyan  movement,  it  is  always 
so.  The  ffreat  strui^fsrle  which  eventuated  in  the  estab- 
lishment  of  Christianity  in  the  world  formed  no  excep- 
tion to  this  general  rule.  The  Christians  of  the  first 
three  centuries  were  men  naturally  and  morally  fitted 
for  the  huge  task  which  was  laid  upon  them,  and  which 
they  successfully  finished.  They,  like  all  other  men, 
had  their  faults,  and  some  faults  peculiar  to  their  age 
and  circumstances  ;  but  they  were  among  the  strongest 
and  noblest  men  which  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and 
fully  competent  to  give  reliable  testimony  as  to  all  the 
facts  of  their  own  history  and  literature.  To  suppose, 
as  some  seem  to  do,  that  Christianity  all  suddenly  died 
out  at  the  close  of  the  apostolic  period,  and  lay  dead 
for  twelve  or  fourteen  centuries  more,  and  never 
breathed  again ;  and  then  suddenly  started  forth  full 
grown  in  the  persons  of  the  Protestant  reformers,  like 
Minerva  from  the  head  of  Jupiter,  is  to  think  and 
reason  in  a  most  childish  and  frivolous  way. 

But,  it  is  objected,  tluit  on  a  subject  so  momentous  ns 
that  of  religion,  ought  we  not  to  have  something  bet- 
ter than  mere  human  testimony  to  rely  upon  ?  There 
is  the  divine  testimony  within,  to  all  who  desire  it  and 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   51 

rightly  seek  for  it.  The  really  good  man  hath  the 
witness  in  himself — he  knoweth  the  doctrine  whether 
it  is  of  God.  And  as  to  the  external  word,  if  there 
were  as  great  moral  risk  in  believing  it  as  there  is  in 
rejecting  it,  the  question  above  stated  might  have  some 
significance.  But  notoriously  all  the  risk  is  in  reject- 
ing, there  is  none  at  all  in  believing.  On  the  princi- 
ples of  the  unbelievers  themselves,  no  one  is  made  the 
worse  in  time,  no  one  can  be  made  the  worse  in  eter- 
nity, by  a  rational,  considerate,  consistent  belief  in  the 
Christian  sacred  books.  It  is  the  order  of  providence, 
that  for  our  important  practical  knowledge  on  all  sub- 
jects, we  must  depend  to  a  great  extent  on  human 
testimony.  We  are  made  to  depend  on  each  other. 
It  is  so  in  medicine,  in  law,  in  politics,  in  all  the  ordi- 
nary business  relations  of  life ;  men  of  good  moral 
principles  and  sound  common  sense,  get  on  without 
essential  inconvenience  from  this  cause ;  and  so  it  is 
and  so  it  must  be,  creation  being  as  it  is,  in  regard  to 
the  evidence,  the  external  evidence,  on  which  we 
deceive  the  sacred  books  which  contain  the  divine 
revelations  to  us. 

In  regard  to  direct  testimony,  each  separate  book 
of  the  Bible  must  stand  in  a  great  measure  by  itself, 
and  the  witnesses  can  be  most  advantageously  exam- 
ined when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  individual  books 
each  by  itself.  This  will  be  the  subject  of  subsequent 
chapters.  There  are  general  testimonies  to  the  whole, 
which  will  not  be  overlooked  in  our  discussions. 
Some  of  the  most  satisfactory  testimonies  are  those 
which  are  merely  incidental,  where  there  is  no  intention 
of  testifying,  but  the  witness  is  intent  on  another  topic. 


52  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Such  kind  of  testimony  is  in  all  cases  particularly  valu- 
able. I  will  here  give  an  example  or  two  to  illustrate 
my  meaning. 

Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  John  the  apostle,  and  who 
was  appointed  by  the  apostles  bishop  of  Smyrna,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  several  of  them,  (Irenaeus,  III. 
3  :  4,)  in  fragments  of  his  writings,  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  has  incidental  notices  of  this  kind :  "  Mat- 
thew testifies  that  the  Lord  said  that  Moses  wrote  of 
Adam's  speaking  in  this  manner,  this  noiv  is  hone  of 
my  hone  and  jiesli  of  my  Jlesh^  for  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  father  and  mother^''''  etc.     (Matt.  xix.  5.) 

"  Mark  begins  with  the  ancient  prophetic  announce 
ment  of  the  advent  of  Christ ;  Luke  begins  from  the 
priesthood  of  Zacharia ;  John  takes  his  exordium  from 
the  author  of  our  redemption."  These  extracts  are 
neither  full  nor  literal ;  the  sense  of  Polycarp  is  given 
in  an  abridged  form  to  show  the  kind  of  incidental 
testimony  to  our  sacred  books  from  the  ancient  fathers 
who  had  been  in  immediate  communication  with  the 
apostles  themselves,  and  so  onward.  But  as  some, 
though  without  sufficient  reason,  doubt  the  genuine- 
ness of  these  fragments  of  Polycarp,  we  will  add  a 
passage  or  two  from  his  epistle  to  the  Philipians,  in 
regard  to  which  there  has  never  been  reasonable  ques- 
tion. "  Do  we  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world  as  Paul  teaches?"  (I  Cor.  vi.  2.)  "I  trust  ye  are 
well  exercised  in  the  Holy  Scriptures."  "As in  these 
Scriptures  it  is  said.  Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not :  and 
Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath : "  (Eph. 
iv.  26.)  Remember  what  the  Lord  said,  teaching: 
Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged;  with  what  measure 
yo  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again."     [Matt. 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   53 

vii.  1,  2.)  "  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed 
the  pains  of  hell:"  (Acts,  ii.  24.)  In  this  one  short 
epistle  of  about  five  or  six  common  duodecimo  pages, 
Polycarp  has  incidentfil  allusions  to,  and  express  quota- 
tions from,  no  less  than  sixteen  of  the  books  of  our 
present  New  Testament ;  and  in  all  fairness  we  might 
extend  the  number  to  twenty,  for  the  four  called  douht- 
ful  are  scarcely  to  be  justly  doubted. 

Origen  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  and 
the  early  part  of  the  third  century.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  learned,  indefatigable,  sincere  and  honest 
men  that  ever  lived.  In  his  seventh  sermon  on  the 
book  of  Joshua,  allegorizing,  after  his  manner,  the 
account  of  the  taking  of  Jericho,  he  thus  speaks:  "But 
when  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came,  of  whom  Joshua, 
the  son  of  Nun,  was  but  a  type,  he  sent  forth  the 
priests,  his  apostles,  bearing  well-beaten  trumpets, 
sounding  the  glorious  heavenly  doctrine.  Matthew 
sounds  first  with  the  priestly  trumpet  in  his  gospel ; 
Mark,  also,  and  Luke  and  John,  sounded  with  their 
priestly  trumpets.  Peter,  likewise,  sounds  aloud  with 
the  two  trumpets  of  his  epistles ;  James,  also,  and  Jude  ; 
John  sounds  again  with  his  trumpet  in  his  epistles  and 
revelation.  Last  of  all  sounds  he  who  said  (I  Cor., 
iv.  9)  For  I  think  that  God  hath  set  forth  us  the  apostles 
last^  and  sounding  with  the  trumpet  of  his  fourteen 
epistles,  he  threw  down  to  the  foundations  the  walls  of 
Jericho,  and  all  the  engines  of  idolatry,  and  the  schemes 
of  the  philosophers." 

Another  brief  extract  of  the  same  kind  from  the  same 
author.  It  is  in  his  homily  on  Genesis,  xxvi.  18-22, 
■'■  Thus  Isaac  digged  again  the  wells  of  water  which 


54  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  servants  of  his  father  had  digged.  One  servant  of 
his  father  was  Moses,  who  dug  the  well  of  the  law ; 
other  servants  of  his  father  were  David  and  Solomon, 
and  the  prophets,  and  all  they  who  wrote  the  books 
of  the  Old  Testament.  Isaac,  therefore,  again  digged 
new  wells;  yea  the  servants  of  Isaac  digged.  The 
servants  of  Isaac  are  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John ; 
his  servants,  also,  are  Peter,  James,  and  Jude;  and 
likewise  the  apostle  Paul ;  who  all  dig  the  wells  of  the 
New  Testament." 

It  is  in  this  incidental  way  that  the  ancients  make 
us  acquainted  with  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
as  they  had  them  ;  and  to  quote  all  that  they  say,  even 
in  the  small  portion  of  their  writings  which  has  come 
down  to  us,  would  make  a  book  larger  than  the  New 
Testament  itself 

Origen,  then,  and  Polycarp,  the  one  a  cotemporary 
with  the  first  publishers  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
the  other  about  a  century  later,  had  the  same  New 
Testament  books  which  we  now  have ;  and  we  have 
an  unbroken  series  of  the  same  kind  of  testimony  from 
the  apostle  John  to  the  great  theologian  of  the  western 
church,  St  Augustin.  It  will  be  found  exhibited  in 
full  in  the  English  works  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Lardner, 
and  in  the  German  work  of  Kirchhofcr,  alluded  to 
above.  These  works  contain  not  only  the  copious  ex- 
tracts from  the  genuine  writings  of  the  fathers,  by 
Lardner  translated  into  English,  and  by  Kirchhofer 
in  the  original  languages,  but  also  the  most  exact  refer- 
ences to  book  and  paragraph,  giving  the  reader  the 
amplest  opportunity  for  verification. 

We  have  thus  set  forth   the  kind  of  evidence  on 


EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   55 

which  we  receive  the  Christian  sacred  books ;  we  have 
shown  it  to  be  the  same  kind  of  evidence  which  is 
universally  admitted  to  be  satisfactory,  and  is  found  to 
be  satisfactory,  in  all  the  most  important  transactions 
of  our  daily  lives ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  we  have  no 
claim  on  God  for  any  other  or  any  different  kind  of 
evidence.  The  particular  testimonies  will  be  given 
when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  individual  books  of  the 
New  Testament. 

The  next  object  will  be  to  show  that  we  have  the 
text  of  the  New  Testament  substantially  incorrupt, 
that  is,  that  we  not  only  have  the  same  books  of  the 
New  Testament  which  the  first  Christians  had,  but  that 
we  read  in  these  books  the  same  things,  and  only  the 
same  things  which  they  read  in  them. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  an  interesting  fact  or  two 
in  respect  to  the  emperor  Constantine,  having  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  this  whole  subject.  Constantine, 
although  he  did  not  oifer  himself  for  baptism  till  quite 
at  the  close  of  life,  had  always  been,  from  his  first  ac- 
quaintance with  Christianity,  an  earnest  and  delighted 
reader  of  the  New  Testament.  It  had  been  his  cus- 
tom for  years  in  his  palace  to  read  every  day  to  his 
household  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  then  himself  offer 
prayer,  like  the  good  Christian  house-fathers  of  the 
Puritan  stock.  After  the  affairs  of  his  empire  had 
been  established  on  a  sure  basis,  he  wrote  to  Eusebius 
of  Caesarea,  to  have  prepared  for  him,  by  the  best 
workmen  and  of  the  best  material,  fifty  copies  of  the 
entire  Greek  Scriptures ;  and  ordered  two  of  the  gov- 
ernment wagons,  under  the  special  charge  of  a  deacon 
of  the  Caesarean  church,  to  transport  these  copies,  when 
completed,  to  Constantinople  for  his  own  inspection. 


56  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

This  commission  Eusebius  promptly  and  joyfully  ful- 
filled ;  and  to  this  fact  undoubtedly,  in  a  great  degree, 
we  are  indebted  for  the  remarkable  accuracy  of  the 
text  of  the  Greek  Testament,  so  much  superior  in  this 
respect  to  the  text  of  any  Greek  or  Latin  classic,  or 
even  of  our  own  Shakespeare  and  Milton.  These 
manuscripts  the  emperor  gave  to  the  principal  churches 
to  be  read  in  the  public  worship  ;  and  they  were  trans- 
scribed  for  the  use  of  other  churches.  To  this  source 
we  probably  owe  all  our  best  ancient  manuscripts  of 
the  Greek  Testament ;  the  Alexandrian,  the  Vatican, 
the  Ephraim,  the  Sinai ;  which  all  give  evidence  of 
Egyptian  origin,  and  of  being  originally  from  the  great 
book  market  of  Alexandria.  See  Life  of  Constantino 
by  Eusebius,  lY.  17,  34-3 T. 


1    iM\       tM 


III  ll  III' I 'i' 


llii!!j|i!!iiliii||':i' 


,!'■'      II 


il;'':'''iii!fi 


Jil 


CHAPTER    THIRD. 

EVIDENCE    ON  WHICH    WE    RECEIVE    THE    PRESENT  TEXT    OF 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  AS  SUBSTANTIALLY  CORRECT. 

To  ascertain  the  substantial  correctness  of  our  pres- 
ent text  of  the  New  Testament,  we  must  compare 
the  readings  of  our  modern  printed  editions  of  the 
Greek  with  the  earliest  manuscript  authorities,  and  as 
nearly  as  possible  with  the  very  autographs  of  the 
original  authors.  It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should 
have  these  autographs,  because  it  is  not  necessary  to 
prove  a  minute,  unchangeable  accuracy  of  every  word 
and  every  letter,  but  only  to  show  that  there  has  been 
no  change  which  essentially  affects  the  meaning  of  the 
New  Testament,  or  hinders  the  attainment  of  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  given  to  mankind. 

In  the  age  of  the  New  Testament  writers,  the  most 
common  and  convenient  material  of  writing  was  papy- 
rus— a  sort  of  paper  formed  of  the  inner  bark  of  a 
reed  which  abounds  in  Egypt,  and  flourishes  also  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Of  this  there 
w^ere  three  kinds,  the  sacred,  the  common,  and  the 
epistolary.  The  first  was  very  expensive,  and  its  use 
limited  principally  to  the  pagan  priesthood  in  Egypt. 
The  epistolary  was  thin  and  perishable ;  but  the  com- 
mon papyrus  was  more  firm  and  durable,  and  this 
probably  was  the  kind  used  mainly  by  the  writers  of 


58  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  New  Testament.  Paul  in  one  passage  speaks  of 
parchment,  and  in  a  manner  which  indicates  that  he 
set  a  high  value  upon  it  (II  Tim.  iv.  13). 

Authors,  at  that  period,  seldom  committed  their  own 
compositions  to  writing,  and  never  for  the  use  of  the 
public.  The  preparation  of  manuscripts  was  then  a 
trade,  as  much  as  printing  and  bookbinding  are  now. 
Paul  usually  did  not  write  even  his  own  epistles  (Rom. 
xvi.  22  ;  Gal.  vi.  11)  ;  but  to  prevent  forgery  he  wrote 
his  own  name  with  the  concluding  salutation  (I  Cor. 
xvi.  21  ;  II  Thess.  iii.  17;  Col.  iv.  18).  He  urges  it 
as  a  strong  proof  of  his  tender  and  deep  interest  in 
the  Galatians,  that  he  had  written  to  them  so  large  an 
e2:)istle  with  his  own  hand,  though  the  epistle  itself  is 
much  shorter  than  that  to  the  Romans,  which  was 
written  by  Tertius ;  and  to  the  Thessalonians  he  writes, 
"the  salutation  of  Paul  with  mine  own  hand,  Avhich  is 
the  token  in  every  epistle;  so  I  write.' 

The  author  dictated  to  one  whose  business  it  was  to 
write  rapidly,  and  who  was  denominated  by  the  Greeks 
tachugrajjlios^  swift  writer^  and  by  the  Latins  notarius 
or  amanuensis.  This  was  copied  in  a  fair  character 
by  the  kaUigrcq^hos^  fine  writer^  called  also  hibltograjjhos, 
and  by  the  Latins,  Ubrarius.  The  manuscript  was  then 
submitted  to  one,  the  doldmazon.^  whose  business  it  was 
to  see  whether  the  whole  was  accurately  written,  and  to 
correct  any  errors  which  might  have  occurred. 

Tlie  work  thus  prepared  was  dedicated  to  some  pat- 
ron of  learning  or  of  the  author,  as  Josephus  directed 
his  writings  to  Epaphroditus,  and  Luke  his  to  Theoph- 
ilus;  or  to  some  association,  as  the  epistles  of  Paul 
were  generally  directed  to  a  church  ;  or  to  some  friend, 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  59 

as  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy,  to  Titus,  and  to  Pliilemon ; 
and  through  these  channels  they  were  made  known  to 
the  public  (Compare  Hug's  Introduction  to  the  New 
Testament,  vol.  -I.  p.  106  fif.  in  German). 

All  the  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament 
of  any  value,  which  we  now  possess,  are  written  on 
parchment  or  vellum. 

For  evidence  that  we  have  the  text  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament as  it  was  originally  given,  we  must  first  apply 
to  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  of  those  books  which 
are  still  accessible.  Of  these  the  number,  antiquity 
and  variety  is  most  surprising,  considering  the  circum- 
stances, and  especially  when  we  compare  them  with 
the  paucity  and  comparative  recentness  of  those  on 
which  we  must  rely  for  the  text  of  the  most  celebrated 
and  most  useful  writers  of  classic  antiquity. 

Herodotus  is  the  most  ancient,  and  in  many  respects 
the  most  important  of  the  classic  historians.  Of  his 
great  work  there  are  known  to  critics  in  all  about  fif- 
teen manuscript  copies,  but  most  of  these  are  of  more 
recent  date  than  A.  D.  1450.  One  of  the  best,  in  the 
imperial  library  at  Paris,  belongs  to  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, another  in  the  library  at  Florence,  is  as  early  as 
the  tenth,  and  one  in  the  library  of  Emmanuel  College, 
at  Cambridge,  in  England,  may  be  as  early  as  the  ninth 
century.  Of  the  ethical  writers  among  the  classics,  Plato 
is  the  most  celebrated  and  the  most  popular.  The 
number  of  the  ancient  manuscript  copies  of  his  wri- 
tings is  even  fewer  than  of  those  of  Herodotus,  and  one 
of  the  earliest,  which  is  in  the  Bodleian  library  at  Ox- 
ford, is  as  recent  as  the  ninth  century.  This  manu- 
script bears  the  date  of  A.  D.  895,  and  was  obtained 


60  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

in  the  yecar  1801,  by  the  traveller  E.  D.  Clarke,  from 
the  Convent  of  St.  John,  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos.  In 
1847  Mr.  Coxe,  the  librarian  of  the  Bodleian,  visited 
this  convent  for  the  purpose  of  making  manuscript 
purchases  ;  but  found  the  monks  there  still  very  sore 
on  account  of  the  loss  of  their  Plato,  which  they  knew 
very  well  had  gone  to  Oxford ;  and  he  had  very  little 
success  among  them.  Now  let  us  compare  with  this 
statement  the  antiquity,  number  and  variety  of  the 
manuscript  copies  which  we  have  of  the  historical  and 
ethical  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  Of  the  manu- 
script copies  of  the  Greek  Testament,  from  700  to 
1000  of  all  kinds  have  been  examined  already  by 
critics,  and  of  these  at  least  50  are  more  than  1000 
years  old,  and  some  are  known  to  be  at  least  1500 
years  old ;  while  the  oldest  of  the  Greek  classics 
scarcely  reach  the  antiquity  of  900  years,  and  of  these 
the  number  is  very  small  indeed,  compared  with  those 
of  the  Greek  Testament.  We  have  manuscripts  of 
the  Greek  Testament  that  could  have  been  read  by 
men  who  had  opportunity  to  read  the  autographs  of 
the  apostles  themselves;  manuscripts  as  near  to  the 
life  time  of  the  apostles  as  we  ourselves  are  to  tlie  life 
time  of  the  pilgrim  fathers  who  landed  at  Plymouth; 
and  the  writers  of  which  might  have  themselves  seen 
the  autograph  books  in  the  churches  as  we  now  may 
see  the  original  records  of  the  old  colony  in  the  Ply- 
month  court-house. 

When  I  was  in  England,  in  1836,  I  saw  Dr.  Routh, 
the  President  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  who  had 
seen  and  conversed  with  men  who  had. seen  and  con- 
versed with  James  11.  king  of  England.     James  died 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  61 

in  1701,  Ptouth  was  born  in  ]  746 ;  forty-five  years  be- 
tween tliem.  I  was  then  only  one  link  distant,  in  the 
chain  of  tradition,  from  the  hiding  of  the  Connecticut 
charter  in  the  Wyllys  oak  in  Hartford. 

Any  person  who  saw  Josiah  Quincy,  in  Boston,  just 
before  he  died,  in  1865,  was  only  two  links  in  the  chain 
of  tradition  from  the  very  first  settlement  of  Massachu- 
betts.  S.  Bradstreet,  governor,  was  born  1603,  died 
1697.  J.  Quincy  was  born  1772;  seventy-five  years 
between  them. 

It  is  about  200  years  from  the  death  of  the  Apostle 
John  to  the  first  full  manuscript  we  have  of  the  whole 
New  Testament,  though  we  have  fragments  and  quota- 
tions from  the  very  earliest  periods,  from  the  time  of 
the  apostle  John  himself. 

The  age  of  manuscripts  to  w^hich  no  date  is  affixed 
is  decided  by  various  circumstances,  such  as  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  parchment,  the  fashion  of  the  book, 
and  particularly  the  form  of  the  letters  used,  which 
varied  at  different  periods,  as  has  been  the  case  with 
the  types  which  are  used  in  printed  books.  Compare 
the  books  which  were  printed  in  London  in  the  time 
of  Elizabeth,  w^ith  those  which  are  printed  there  now ; 
and  remember  that  in  manuscript  letters  the  difference 
is  still  wider  at  the  different  periods,  as  great  indeed 
as  the  difference  between  German  text  and  the  com- 
mon Roman  letter ;  or,  to  make  a  comparison  that  is 
still  more  exact,  like  the  difference  between  the  capital 
and  the  small  letters  of  our  common  alphabets.  In 
respect  to  antiquity  the  manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Tes- 
tament are  of  two  kinds,  designated  by  the  shape  of 
the  letters  in  which  they  are  written.  The  most 
ancient  are  written  in  large,  square  capital   letters, 


62  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"without  any  division  into  sentence,  or  even  ^vords,  con- 
sisting simply  of  continuous  rows  of  letters  across  the 
page  in  parallel  lines  from  the  top  to  the  bottom. 
There  are,  however,  certain  breaks  in  the  continuity 
of  the  writing,  corresponding  in  some  degree  to  the 
breaks  in  the  sense,  in  most  if  not  all  the  manuscripts ; 
but  of  these  each  manuscript,  as  a  general  fact,  has  a 
series  peculiar  to  itself,  and  none  of  them  have  the 
regularity  or  uniformity  of  our  present  arrangement 
into  paragraphs  and  sentences.  There  are  also,  com- 
mon to  many  ancient  manuscripts,  two  sets  of  divisions, 
the  one  called  the  Ammonian  sections,  introduced  by 
Ammonius  of  Alexandria,  in  the  third  century,  and 
the  other  the  Eusebian  canons,  introduced  by  the  ever 
active  and  indefatigable  Eusebius  of  Caesarea,  a  cen- 
tury later.  These  are  generally  found  together ;  and 
in  manuscripts,  too,  which  have  another  and  more 
ancient  division  like  that  which  we  mentioned  first. 
These  latter  sections  and  canons,  however,  are  usually 
indicated  by  Greek  numerals,  rather  than  by  breaks  in 
the  writing ;  having  been  often  affixed  by  later  hands, 
long  after  the  manuscript  had  been  originally  written. 
The  letters  in  which  these  most  ancient  manuscripts 
lire  written,  are  called  uncial  letters,  from  the  Latin 
word  meaning  incli^  as  if  the  letters  were  originally  an 
inch  long.  This  letter  fell  into  disuse  before  the  tenth 
century,  and  manuscripts  written  in  it  are  older 
than  tliat  date.  The  other  kind  of  letter  is  called  the 
cursive^  or  running  hand,  wliieli  is  a  small  letter  in 
distinction  from  the  capital,  and  resembles  the  type  in 
which  Greek  books  have  generally  been  printed.  We 
may  therefore  say,  as  a  general  classification  sufficiently 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  63 

accurate  for  our  present  purpose,  that  uncial  manu- 
scripts of  the  Greek  Testament  are  more  than  one 
thousand  years  old,  and  the  cursive  less  than  a  thou- 
sand years. 

The  manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Testament  which  we 
have,  are  all  in  the  book  form,  none  of  them  in  the 
ancient  oriental  form  of  rolls.  Very  few  manuscripts 
contain  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament ;  for  an 
ancient  manuscript  book  being  necessarily  much  larger 
than  a  printed  one,  for  convenience  sake,  the  Testa- 
ment was  generally  arranged  in  four  or  five  different 
volumes.  Of  the  volume  containing  the  Gospels  we 
have  at  least  426  different  manuscripts  of  which  27 
are  uncials,  or  more  than  one  thousand  years  old ;  of 
the  volume  containing  Paul's  Epistles,  255  manuscripts, 
of  which  9  are  uncial ;  of  the  volume  of  Acts  and  the 
Catholic  Epistles,  200,  of  which  8  are  uncial ;  and  of 
the  Apocalypse  or  Revelation,  91,  of  which  3  are 
uncial.  Here  then  we  have  972  entire  manuscripts  of 
the  different  volumes  of  the  Greek  Testament,  of  wdiich 
47  are  more  than  1000  years  old.  This  enumeration 
does  not  include  all  the  known  manuscripts,  nor  are  all 
the  volumes  arranged  precisely  like  these — but  I  give 
these  facts  simply  as  a  general  illustration  of  the  topic 
under  discussion. 

Compare  with  this  what  has  already  been  said  of  the 
number  and  antiquity  of  the  manuscripts  of  Herodotus 
and  Plato,  which  are  fair  specimens  of  the  classics  gen- 
erally in  regard  to  this  point.  Of  these  two  most  im- 
portant of  the  classical  writers  we  have  less  than  30 
manuscripts,  and  not  one  of  these  1000  years  old; 
while  of  the  New  Testament  we  have  in  round  num- 


64  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     B.   BLE. 

bers  1000  manuscripts,  and  50  of  them  more  than  1000 
years  old. 

Different  books  of  the  New  Testament  are  often  in 
manuscripts  entirely  independent  of  the  other  books ; 
and  some  books  were  much  more  frequently  copied 
and  more  generally  used  than  others.  There  are  more 
manuscripts  of  the  Gospels  than  of  any  other  part  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  Revelation  has  by  far  the 
smallest  number. 

A  few  of  the  more  important  of  these  manuscripts 
will  now  be  described,  that  the  reader  may  have  the 
means  of  forming  a  judgment  for  himself  as  to  their 
condition  and  value.  We  will  select  mainly  from  those 
which  originally  contained  the  whole  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, which  are  very  few  in  comparison  with  the 
whole  number.  When  critics  first  began  to  use  manu- 
scripts for  the  correction  of  the  printed  text,  there 
were  scarcely  a  half  dozen  valuable  ones  known  to 
exist  in  the  libraries  of  Europe,  and  for  convenience 
they  were  designated  by  the  capital  letters  of  the  Ro- 
man alphabet.  A,  B,  C,  &c.,  the  manuscript  first  used 
being  designated  by  the  first  letter,  without  reference 
to  its  age  or  value,  and  so  of  the  rest  in  succession. 
The  number  of  manuscripts  discovered  is  now  so  great 
that  all  the  capitals  of  both  the  Roman  and  Greek 
alphabets  have  been  exhausted  in  the  designation  of  the 
uncial  manuscripts  only,  and  a  beginning  has  been 
made  on  the  Hebrew.  As  a  single  manuscript  seldom 
contains  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  but  only  a 
certain  portion  of  it,  it  often  happens  that  the  same 
letter  designates  two  or  three  different  manuscripts 
when  applied  to  different  parts  of  the  Testament,     For 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  65 

example,  the  letter  E  may  designate  a  particular  man- 
uscript of  the  Gospels,  also  a  manuscript  of  Paul's 
Epistles,  which  has  no  connection  with  that  of  the  Gos- 
pels, and  so  of  the  rest.  This  must  always  be  borne 
in  mind  when  examining  the  references  to  manuscripts. 
Whenever  a  manuscript  contains  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  particular  letter  applied  to  that  is  never 
appropriated  to  any  other.  The  term  generally  used 
to  designate  a  manuscript  book  is  the  Latin  word  codex. 
A.  Codex  Alexandrinus.  The  Alexandrian  manu- 
script is  so  called  from  the  place  of  its  origin,  the  city 
of  Alexandria  in  Egypt.  In  the  year  1628  Cyril  Lu- 
car,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  who  formerly  held 
the  same  office  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  and  who  was 
so  much  inclined  towards  protestantism  that  he  made 
an  abortive  attempt  to  reform  the  Greek  cnurch  on  the 
model  of  Calvinism  at  Geneva,  sent  to  England  by  Sir 
Thomas  Roe,  the  English  embassador  in  Turkey,  a 
magnificent  Greek  manuscript  of  the  whole  Bible  as  a 
present  to  King  Charles  I.  This  was  kept  in  the  king's 
library  till  1753,  when  on  the  formation  of  the  British 
Museum,  it  was  transferred  to  that  institution,  in  the 
archives  of  which  it  is  still  most  carefully  preserved. 
It  has  on  the  back  of  the  first  leaf,  after  the  table  of 
contents,  a  statement  in  Arabic,  of  a  very  ancient  date, 
that  the  whole  book  was  written  by  a  noble  Egyptian 
lady,  and  martyr,  by  the  name  of  Thecla,  about  the 
time  of  the  council  of  Nice,  which  was  held  A.  D.  325. 
The  patriarch  Cyril,  in  the  same  volume,  under  his 
own  hand,  certifies  to  the  same  fact.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  a  date  much  later  than  this.  Whether  we 
admit  the  accuracy  of  the  tradition  or  not,  we  may 
5 


66  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

not  safely  place  the  date  of  the  book  far  on  either  side 
of  A.  D.  350.  It  was  probably  manufactured  at  Alex- 
andria in  Egypt,  the  great  book  mart  of  that  period. 
The  manuscript  is  on  parchment,  in  quarto  form,  about 
thirteen  inches  high  and  ten  broad,  each  page  being 
divided  into  two  columns  of  fifty  lines  each,  and  about 
twenty  letters  in  a  line,  the  lines  being  simply  straight 
rows  of  uncial  (capital)  letters,  and  generally  without 
any  divisions  whatever,  even  so  much  as  to  separate  the 
words.  Some  sections  are  designated  by  large  orna- 
mented letters,  not  at  the  beginning  of  the  section,  unless 
the  section  itself  begins  with  the  line,  which  is  seldom 
the  case,  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  line  below. 
Whenever  the  section  begins  after  the  beginning  of  a 
line,  the  first  letter  of  the  next  line,  even  though  it  may 
be  in  the  middle  of  a  word,  is  a  large  ornamented  capital 
standing  out  in  the  margin.  The  whole  is  written  in 
a  plain,  square  and  firm  hand,  and  looks  as  if  it  were 
the  work  of  one  person  throughout.  If  so  it  must 
have  been  a  prodigious  labor.  It  is  now  put  up  in 
four  volumes,  three  for  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
Apocrypha,  and  one  for  the  New,  with  the  Epistle  of 
Clement  to  the  Corinthians.  Several  leaves  have  been 
lost,  but  the  most  serious  defect  is  in  the  first  twenty- 
four  chapters  of  Matthew,  which  are  gone  beyond 
recovery.  There  are  not  a  few  literal  and  verbal 
errors  in  it,  very  obvious  to  any  intelligent  reader,  but 
no  more  than  what  we  might  expect  in  any  manuscript 
of  that  extent,  even  the  most  carefully  written.  It 
has  no  punctuation  or  accents,  though  in  some  cases 
the  end  of  a  word  is  designated  by  a  small  mark.  It 
has  brief  titles  and  subscriptions  to  the  several  books. 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  67 

In  the  Gospels  it  arranges  Matthew  in  68  sections  or 
chapters,  Mark  48,  Luke  83,  and  John  18  ;  and  it  has 
also  the  Eusebian  canons,  which  with  the  Ammonian  sec- 
tions, are  intended  to  make  out  a  harmony  of  the  Gos- 
pel history.  It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable,  though 
probably  not  the  oldest,  of  the  existing  manuscripts 
of  the  Greek  Testament,  and  from  its  history  and  its 
present  location  we  may  properly  designate  it  as  the 
Greek  text  of  the  Protestant  church.  There  was  a 
reprint  of  the  New  Testament  portion  published  by 
Dr.  Woide,  in  1786,  in  large  square  capitals,  intended 
to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  fac  simile ;  and  another 
one  in  common  Greek  type  by  Mr.  Cowper,  in  1860, 
either  of  them  sufficiently  accurate  for  common  crit- 
ical examination.  It  is  difficult  and  expensive  for 
most  readers  to  get  access  to  these  very  old  manu- 
scripts, and  when  access  is  attained  they  are  so  tender 
and  mouldering  by  reason  of  age,  that  they  must  be 
handled  with  great  caution.  An  accurate  reprint, 
to  the  reader,  after  he  has  once  seen  the  manuscript, 
is  more  convenient  for  his  purposes,  on  his  own  study 
table,  than  the  manuscript  itself  in  its  sacred  shrine. 

B.  Codex  Vaticanus,  the  Vatican  manuscript,  so 
called  from  the  library  in  which  it  is  kept,  the  Vatican 
at  Rome.  This  library  was  established  by  pope  Nich- 
olas v.,  about  A.  D.  1450,  and  this  celebrated  manu- 
script has  from  the  first  been  one  of  its  most  valued 
deposits.  Little  is  known  of  its  previous  history, 
though  it  is  supposed  that  it  was  brought  to  Italy  by 
the  learned  Greek  Cardinal  Bessarion  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  perhaps  a  quarter  or  a 
half  century  older  than  the  Alexandrian ;  and  like  that 


68  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

it  originally  contained  the  whole  of  the  Greek  Bible ; 
and  like  that,  too,  several  of  its  leaves  have  been  lost. 
The  Epistles  to  Philemon,  Titus,  and  the  two  to  Timo- 
thy, called  the  pastoral  epistles,  the  latter  part  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Apocalypse,  are  all 
wanting.  The  New  Testament  is  now  a  quarto  vol- 
ume, bound  in  red  morocco,  ten  and  a  half  inches  high, 
ten  inches  broad,  and  four  and  a  half  thick,  and  con- 
tains 146  leaves.  It  is  written  on  very  fine  vellum,  in 
a  small,  elegant  square  letter,  three  columns  on  a  page, 
so  that  on  opening  the  volume  anywhere  in  the  New 
Testament,  six  columns  of  well  formed  letters  are  pre- 
sented to  the  eye.  Each  column  for  the  most  part 
contains  forty-two  lines,  and  each  line  sixteen  or  eight- 
een letters.  The  letters  are  very  much  like  those  in 
the  manuscript  rolls  discovered  in  the  ruins  of  Hercu- 
laneum,  one  of  the  evidences  of  its  great  antiquity. 
As  originally  written  it  had  neither  ornamented  capi- 
tal letters,  punctuation,  accents,  or  anything  of  the 
kind,  though  some  have  been  added  by  later  hands 
the  earliest  perhaps  dating  from  the  eighth  century. 
The  dates  of  such  additions  to,  or  modifications  of, 
ancient  manuscripts,  are  ascertained  by  the  color  of  the 
ink,  the  forms  of  the  letters,  the  difierence  in  the  hand- 
writing, and  other  circumstances  of  the  like  nature. 
Like  all  ancient  manuscripts,  it  has  no  divisions  into 
words,  though  some  of  the  books  have  divisions  into 
sections,  marked  by  blank  spaces,  Matthew  having  of 
these  sections  170,  Mark  72,  Luke  152,  John  80.  It 
has  also  brief  titles  and  subscriptions  to  most  of  the 
books. 

Its  value  as  an  authority  is  very   high,  and  before 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  69 

the  beginning  of  the  present  century  it  had  been  three 
times  collated,  though  imperfectly,  for  printed  editions 
of  the  Greek  Testament.     The  unreasoning  jealousy 
of  the  Papal  Court  has  never  allowed  to  scholars  the 
free  use  of  it.     In  1810  Napoleon  took  it  to  Paris  with 
other  Italian  treasures,  and  while  there  it  was  easily 
accessible  to  those  who  wished  to  examine  it.     After 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  the  spoils  were  restored  to  their 
original  places ;    but  Mr.  Baber,  the  librarian  of  the 
British  Museum,  besought  the  Duke  of  Wellington  that 
for  the  sake  of  Biblical  science  this  invaluable  manu- 
script might  be  deposited  where  it  would  be  accessible 
to  scholars.     "  No  (says  Wellington)  I  shall  not  detain 
it ;  it  is  stolen  property,  and  must  go  back  to  its  own- 
ers."    So  it  went  back  to  the  Vatican,  where  it  has 
been  guarded  with  a  jealousy  so  puerile  and  senseless 
as  to  deprive  the  world  of  the  benefits  it  might  confer. 
In  1843,  Tischendorf,  the  best  and  most  careful  scholar, 
in  this  department,  of  the  present  generation,  went  to 
Rome  for  the  purpose  of  examining  it.     It  was  locked 
up  in  a  drawer  of  the  library,  and  it  w^as  some  months 
before  he  could  obtain  even  a  sight  of  it ;  and  then 
with  two  prelati  to  watch  him,  he  was  allowed  to  look 
at  it  on  two  separate  days,  three  hours  each  day ;  but 
he  was  previously  searched  and  deprived  of  pen,  ink 
and  paper,  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  making  a  note, 
and  if  he  even  looked  at  a  text  with  special  care,  the 
attendants  would  snatch  the  book  from  his  hand.     In 
1844  Edward  de  Muralt  was  allowed  to  examine  it  on 
three  different  days,  three  hours  each  day,  but  under 
the  same  jealous  watchfulness.     In  1855  Dr.  Tregelles 
went  from  England  to  Rome,  armed  with  a  letter  of 


70  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

recommendation  from  Cardinal  Wiseman,  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  examining  the  manuscript ;  but 
though  he  was  allowed  to  see  it,  he  was  ellectually 
hindered  from  transcribing  a  syllable.  If  the  Papal 
scholars  themselves  would  make  any  effective  use  of 
this  treasure  committed  to  their  keeping,  their  exclu- 
sion of  all  Protestant  scholars  from  it  would  not  appear 
so  disgustingly  illiberal ;  but  their  conduct  in  this 
respect  is  a  repetition  of  the  old  fable  of  the  dog  in  the 
manger.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Car- 
dinal Angelo  Mai,  a  really  amiable  and  learned  man, 
kept  promising  a  reprint  of  this  work  in  such  a  form 
as  would  meet  the  demands  of  Biblical  inquiry.  In 
1858,  the  work  was  published,  three  years  after  the 
Cardinal's  death  ;  but  so  slovenly  and  unscholar-like  was 
the  whole  performance,  that  even  the  Papists  were 
ashamed  of  it,  and  in  1859  Charles  Vercellone,  a  monk 
of  St.  Barnabas,  and  a  friend  of  the  Cardinal,  pub- 
lished a  revised  edition,  a  little  better  than  the  first 
one,  but  still  glaringly  insufficient,  and  altogether  be- 
low the  scholarship  of  the  age.  Instead  of  an  exact 
reprint  of  the  Vatican  manuscript,  word  for  word  and 
letter  for  letter,  which  is  the  thing  and  the  only  thing 
that  is  wanted,  and  one  would  think  the  simplest 
and  easiest  thing  to  be  done,  we  have  an  ordinary 
Greek  text  on  the  basis  of  the  Vatican,  containing  in 
their  regular  order  all  the  parts  which  the  manuscript 
omits  as  well  as  those  which  it  has,  and  the  deviations 
pointed  out  in  marginal  notes,  which  are  none  of  the 
clearest,  and  all  done  in  such  a  way  as  very  much  to 
diminish  our  confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  the  whole 
performance.     This  is  the  more  remarkable,  inasmuch 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  71 

as  both  the  cardinal,  and  his  friend  the  monk,  by  their 
prefaces  and  dissertations,  show  clearly  that  they  knew 
how  the  work  ought  to  be  done,  and  that  they  were 
themselves  capable  of  doing  it.  We  still  wait  for  a 
proper  examination  and  reprint  of  the  Vatican  manu- 
script ;  and  till  we  can  get  it,  must  content  ourselves 
with  the  Greek  Testament  edited  by  P.  Buttmann,  on 
the  basis  of  the  Vatican,  so  far  as  known,  and  pub- 
lished at  Berlin  in  18G2. 

The  following  announcement  in  the  "  Nation  "  news- 
paper, which  has  been  made  since  the  above  was  writ- 
ten, indicates  a  most  gratifying  change  of  the  papal 
policy  in  regard  to  the  custody  of  this  most  precious 
manuscript : 

"  Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate  announce  a  new  edi- 
tion— or  rather  the  first  genuine  edition,  for  that  of 
Cardinal  Mai  was  inaccurate  and  doctored — of  the 
Greek  text  of  the  New  Testament  from  the  Codex 
Vaticanus.  It  is  edited  by  Prof  Tischendorf,  who 
spent  last  spring  in  Rome  to  examine  the  manuscript, 
and  will  be  a  companion  volume  to  the  quarto  edition 
of  the  Codex  Sinaiticus.  It  will  give  the  true  text  of 
the  manuscript,  indicating  throughout  the  pages  and 
columns  of  the  original,  and  in  some  parts  the  single 
lines.  The  later  alterations,  which  have  been  so  often 
confounded  with  the  original  text,  will  be  for  the  first 
time  distinguished  not  only  from  the  text  but  from  a 
third  writing,  later  by  several  centuries.  The  book 
will  also  contain  valuable  prolegomena :  on  the  history 
of  the  Codex,  on  its  paleographic  and  other  peculiari- 
ties, on  the  corrections,  on  the  date  of  its  execution, 
and  on  the  character  of  the  text.     Prof.  Tischendorf 


72  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

makes  an  extended  and  careful  comparison  of  tlie 
Codex  Vaticanus  with  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  with  very 
remarkable  results  as  to  the  relation  of  these  two  im- 
portant manuscripts.  A  companion  volume  is  also 
announced,  under  the  title  of  an  'Appendix,'  which 
will  contain  two  more  leaves  of  the  Codex  Sinaiticus, 
in  fac-simile,  being  fragments  of  the  Pentateuch  found 
in  the  covers  of  old  bindings  in  the  monastery  of  Mt. 
Sinai ;  nineteen  three  column  pages  of  the  Codex 
Yaticanus,  taken  from  fifteen  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  a  double  column  of  the  poetical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  in  fac-simile  ;  and  the  complete  text 
of  the  letters  of  Clemens  Romanus, .  from  the  Codex 
Alexandrinus  in  the  British  Museum,  which  has  never 
been  accurately  edited.  The  two  volumes  will  appear 
early  in  1867." 

CoDEX  Sinaiticus,  the  Sinai  manuscript,  so  called 
from  the  place  where  it  was  discovered.  In  1844  Dr. 
Tischendorf,  while  traveling  under  the  patronage  of 
the  king  of  Saxony,  for  research  in  Biblical  science, 
was  at  the  convent  of  St.  Catharine  on  Mount  Sinai. 
From  a  basket  of  rubbish  intended  to  kindle  his  fire 
he  picked  out  forty-three  beautiful  parchment  leaves 
belonging  to  a  manuscript  of  the  Septuagint  hitherto 
unknown.  These,  on  his  return  to  Europe,  he  pub- 
lished. On  the  4th  of  February,  1859,  he  was  at 
the  same  convent  for  the  third  time,  and  one  of  the 
monks  brought  to  him  the  other  leaves  of  that  same 
manuscript  loosely  tied  in  a  napkin.  To  his  inexpres- 
sible delight  he  found  here  not  only  the  remaining 
portions  of  the  Septuagint,  but  also  the  entire  New 
Testament  with  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  portions 


CONVENT     OF     ST.     0  A  T  H  A  U  1  N  E,     MOUNT     SINAI 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  73 

of  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias ;  the  most  complete,  the 
most  ancient,  the  best  manuscript  copy  of  the  entire 
New  Testament  that  had  as  yet  been  known.  There 
was  no  sleep  for  him  that  night.  Till  morning  dawn 
he  was  busy  in  transcribing,  and  he  persuaded  the 
monks  to  allow  him  to  take  the  manuscript  with  him 
to  Cairo  in  Egypt,  and  finally  to  St.  Petersburg  in 
Europe,  as  a  present  to  the  Russian  emperor  Alexan- 
der II.,  the  great  patron  of  the  Greek  church  through- 
out the  world. 

The  New  Testament  part  of  this  manuscript,  with 
Barnabas  and  Hernias,  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  and  a  half  leaves  of  excellent  parchment, 
written  four  columns  on  a  page,  forty-eight  lines  in 
each  column,  and  on  an  average  fifteen  letters  in  a  line, 
in  a  large,  plain,  square  letter,  clearly  and  symmetri- 
cally formed.  There  are  revisions  and  would-be  cor- 
rections of  the  manuscript  by  later  hands,  beginning 
as  early  as  the  sixth  century ;  but  as  it  came  from  the 
hand  of  the  first  writer,  there  was  no  punctuation,  no 
division  of  sentences  or  words,  no  accents,  no  orna- 
mented capitals ;  everything  plain  about  it,  indicating 
great  carefulness  and  the  highest  antiquity.  There  is 
nothing  improbable  in  the  supposition  that  it  may  be 
one  of  the  very  manuscripts  which  Eusebius,  by  the 
order  of  Constantine,  had  prepared  at  Alexandria  for 
the  use  of  the  metropolitan  churches.  It  is  the  only 
ancient  manuscript  yet  known  which  contains  the 
Greek  text  entire  without  the  loss  of  a  leaf  The  em- 
peror Alexander  had  two  hundred  copies  of  an  exact 
fac-simile  prepared,  which  he  presented  to  different 
learned  institutions  throughout  Christendom,  and  Tisch- 


74  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

endorf  has  published  a  beautiful  and  accurate  reprint 
in  common  Greek  type  (Leipsic,  1863),  which  is  a  per- 
fect model  for  a  publication  of  this  kind.  When  shall 
we  have  such  a  reprint  of  the  Vatican  manuscript? 
Even  in  this  most  precious  Sinai  document  there  are 
just  such  verbal  and  literal  errors  as  we  might  natu- 
rally expect  in  such  a  work  ;  but  most  of  them  are  very 
easily  detected.  The  Greek  and  Roman  capital  letters 
having  been  exhausted  in  designating  manuscripts 
before  Tischendorf  discovered  this  one,  he  refers  to  it 
by  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  alepli. 

I  have  called  these  three  important  manuscripts,  to 
wit,  the  Alexandrian,  the  Vatican  and  the  Sinai,  re- 
spectively the  Greek  Testament  of  the  Protestant,  the 
Roman,  and  the  Greek  churches,  merely  on  account  of 
their  history  and  location ;  and  not  because  any  one 
of  these  three  great  divisions  of  Christendom  finds 
special  help  in  regard  to  their  peculiarities,  from  any 
of  these  manuscripts.  These  three  great  original 
sources  of  New  Testament  teaching,  with  the  utmost 
impartiality  treat  all  these  divisio'ns  exactly  alike,  so 
far  as  their  denominational  character  is  concerned,  that 
is,  they  say  nothing  about  them  whatever ;  and  they 
all  three  are  decidedly  and  equally  the  upholders  of 
Protestantism,  just  so  far  as  Protestantism,  in  fidelity 
to  its  original  principles,  rejects  the  mere  human  tradi- 
tions, which  encumber  and  overlie  the  Greek  and 
Roman  confessions,  and  adheres  simply  to  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  and  the  apostles  as  expressed  in  the 
written  word. 

To  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  different  kinds 
of  uncial  manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Testament  it  will 
be  necessary  to  present  a  brief  description  of  two 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  75 

others,  differing  from  the  three  just  described  in  im- 
portant points,  to  wit,  those  referred  to  by  critics  by 
the  letters  C  and  D. 

C.  Codex  Ephraemi,  the  Ephraim  manuscript,  so 
called  from  Ephraim  the  Syrian,  a  Mesopotamian  saint 
of  the  age  of  Constantino.  This  is  a  very  valuable 
manuscript  of  the  same  class  with  the  Alexandrian  as 
to  age,  form  of  letters,  etc.  It  originally  contained 
the  whole  of  the  Greek  Bible,  written  in  a  single  col- 
umn to  a  page,  with  from  forty  to  forty-five  lines  in  a 
column,  and  from  forty  to  forty-five  letters  to  a  line. 
Somewhere  in  the  twelfth  century  this  manuscript  was 
taken  to  pieces,  the  letters  as  far  as  possible  obliter- 
ated, and  the  leaves  used  for  a  copy  of  the  Greek  ser- 
mons of  St.  Ephraim.  For  this  purpose  the  leaves 
were  taken  promiscuously  without  any  regard  to  their 
proper  original  order  and  sewed  together  at  hap-hazard, 
sometimes  top  end  down,  and  front  side  behind,  just 
as  if  they  had  been  mere  blanks,  the  sermons  of  Eph- 
raim being  the  only  matter  regarded  in  the  book. 
These  sermons  formed  a  thin  quarto  volume,  morocco 
bound,  and  the  parchment  on  which  they  were  written 
contained  sixty-four  leaves  of  the  Greek  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  one  hundred  and  forty-five  of  the  New ;  of 
entire  books  of  the  New  Testament,  only  John  II.  and 
Thess.  II.  are  wholly  missing,  and  there  are  also  want- 
ing in  the  four  Gospels  about  thirty-seven  chapters,  in 
the  Acts  ten,  in  the  Epistles  forty -two,  and  in  the  Reve- 
lation eight. 

The  volume  was  brought  to  France  from  Italy  by 
Catharine  de  Medicis  as  the  sermons  of  Ephraim,  it 
not  having  been  at  that  time  discovered  that  the  parch- 


76  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

ment  originally  was  used  for  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures. 
This  was  first  satisfactorily  ascertained  by  Peter  Allix 
about  1650  ;  and  in  1834,  at  the  instance  of  the  scholar 
Fleck,  a  chemical  wash  was  applied  to  the  pages,  which, 
without  putting  Ephraim  into  the  dark,  made  the  evan- 
gelists and  apostles  somewhat  visible.  The  precious 
remains  were  published  in  an  accurate  reprint  by  Tisch- 
endorf,  A.  D.  1843.  It  is  probably  somewhat  later 
than  the  Alexandrian,  but  of  great  critical  value. 
There  are  in  it  some  breaks  for  sections,  but  no  division 
of  words,  no  traces  of  chapters  except  in  the  Gospels, 
where  we  have  the  Ammonian  divisions  marked  by 
large  letters ;  and  the  titles  and  subscriptions  to  the 
books  are  very  brief  and  simple.  The  leaves  have  been 
much  discolored  by  the  wash  applied  to  them,  and 
they  are  so  tender  and  mouldering  by  reason  of  age 
that  the  scholar  will  find  Tischendorf 's  reprint  much 
more  convenient  for  use  than  the  manuscript  itself. 
Manuscripts  of  this  kind,  where  one  writing  has  been 
erased  to  make  room  for  another,  are  called  palimpsests, 
from  two  Greek  words  which  signify  to  vnpe  again.  This 
manuscript,  like  the  others,  has  been  subjected  to  the 
revisions  of  correcters,  the  earliest  of  whom  seems  to 
be  of  about  the  sixth  century.  This  most  interesting 
relic  of  antiquity,  was,  after  some  hesitation,  put  into 
my  hands  by  the  very  gentlemanly  and  accommoda- 
ting librarian  of  the  Imperial  Library  at  Paris,  with  the 
remark  that  it  was  so  old  and  fragile,  and  so  much  in- 
jured by  the  chemical  wash,  as  to  require  the  most 
delicate  handling,  and  that  the  last  person  who  had 
been  permitted  to  examine  it  was  the  eminent  German 
scholar  Dr.  Tischendorf,  the  discoverer  of  the  Sinai 
manuscript. 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  77 

D.  Codex  Bezae,  the  Beza  manuscript,  presented 
to  the  library  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  Eng- 
land, by  Theodore  Beza,  A.  D.  1581.  This  is  a  hand- 
some quarto  manuscript  on  parchment  of  a  good  qual- 
ity, carefully  written  in  sticlioi^  that  is,  lines  not  filling 
the  page,  but  as  we  print  poetry,  in  a  single  column, 
the  Greek  on  the  left  hand  page  and  a  very  ancient 
Latin  translation  on  the  right,  corresponding  line  for 
line  and  almost  word  for  word  with  the  Greek ;  and  the 
uncial  letter  of  both  languages  so  much  alike  that  on 
first  opening  the  volume  both  pages  present  themselves 
to  the  eye  as  Greek.  The  book  is  ten  inches  high  by 
eight  broad,  and  consists  of  four  hundred  and  fourteen 
leaves,  eleven  of  which  are  mutilated,  and  nine,  addi- 
tions by  later  hands.  Beza  obtained  it  in  1552  from 
the  monastery  of  St.  Irenaeus,  in  Lyons,  where  it  had 
long  lain  buried  in  dust ;  and  the  heads  of  the  Cain- 
bridge  University,  in  acknowledging  the  present,  assure 
the  donor  that  next  to  the  Sacred  Scriptures  them- 
selves there  are  no  books  which  they  prefer  to  the 
writings  of  the  famous  John  Calvin  and  his  friend 
Theodore  Beza..  It  contains  only  the  historical  books 
of  the  New  Testament;  and  in  a  text  that  is  very 
peculiar,  more  divergent  from  the  common  text  than 
any  other  ancient  manuscript,  and  it  belongs  probably 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century,  A.  D.  490,  or 
thereabouts,  being  the  most  modern  of  the  five  which 
we  have  described.  A  good  reprint  of  it  was  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  Kipling,  two  vols,  folio  in  1793,  which  is 
nearly  ?i  facsimile. 

Nothing  is  known  of  its  early  history,  but  probably 
it  was  copied  from  some  old  Alexandrian  manuscript, 


78  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

and  the  Latin  translation  inserted  for  the  benefit  of 
the  western  churches. 

In  the  summer  of  1836  I  had  the  free  use  of  this 
beautiful  and  interesting  book  through  the  politeness 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Lamb,  a  younger  brother  of  the  Prime 
Minister  Lord  Melbourne,  and  then  master  of  Corpus 
Christi  College.  Dr.  Lamb  was  an  eminent  scholar 
in  manuscript  and  antiquarian  lore,  as  is  fully  shown 
by  his  splendid  work  on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles. 

These  five  will  give  the  reader  a  very  good  idea  of 
the  general  character,  condition,  and  variety  of  our 
most  ancient  manuscript  copies  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment. 

Here  then  we  have  accessible  to  us  five  manuscript 
copies  of  the  Greek  Testament,  the  most  recent  more 
than  1200  years  old,  and  the  most  ancient  reaching  to 
an  age  of  fifteen  centuries.  The  proudest  and  most 
costly  architectural  structures  of  men  have  within  that 
period  either  crumbled  and  mouldered  away,  or  become 
obsolete  and  unfit  for  their  original  use,  though  built 
of  the  most  solid  materials  and  put  together  with  the 
utmost  care ;  while  we  of  this  age  can  read  the  same 
fragile  page  of  books  which  were  in  the  hands  of  men 
forty-five  and  fifty  generations  before  us. 

These  all  give  substantially  the  same  text  that  we  now 
have.  There  are  diversities  among  them,  and  diver- 
gencies from  our  common  text;  and  these  are  to  be 
frankly  acknowledged  and  their  real  importance  fully 
indicated,  without  any  attempt  at  concealment  or  pal- 
liation or  apology.  No  ancient  Greek  manuscript 
hitherto  discovered  contains  I  John  v.  7,  There  are 
three  that  hear  record  in  heaven^  etc. ;  in  our  common 


MSS.     OF     THE     XEW     TESTAMENT.  79 

text  the  verse  Jolin  i.  18,  reads,  The  only  begotten  So7i 
ivlio  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father^  he  hath  declared 
him^  but  the  old  Greek  manuscripts  read,  The  only 
begotten  God  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father^  he  hath 
declared  him  ^  in  Colossians  ii.  2,  our  common  text 
reads,  To  the  acJcnotvledgment  of  the  mystery  of  God^ 
and  of  the  Father^  and  of  Christy  but  the  old  Greek 
manuscripts  read,  To  the  acknoivledgment  of  the  mys- 
tery of  the  God  Christ  j  and  so  there  are  other  diver- 
sities between  the  old  text  and  the  present  one ;  but 
these  I  think  are  the  most  striking  examples  that  can 
be  found.  Do  they  in  the  least  degree  necessarily 
change  or  even  modify  our  ideas  respecting  any  Scrip- 
tural fact,  doctrine,  or  precept  ?  They  somewhat  dis- 
turb those  who  hold  to  the  notion  of  a  strictly  verbal 
inspiration,  and  exact  verbum  verbo  dictation  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  composition  of  the  Scriptures ;  but 
these  I  suppose  are  very  few  in  number  and  not  the 
most  thoughtful  or  intelligent. 

Besides  these  divergencies  between  the  older  manu- 
scripts and  the  modern  text,  there  are  also  divergen- 
cies among  the  older  manuscripts  themselves.  The 
best  illustration  of  this  can  be  found  by  comparing  the 
Vatican  with  the  Beza,  the  most  ancient  perhaps,  cer- 
tainly with  only  one  exception,  with  the  most  modern 
of  the  five  which  we  have  described.  As  compared 
with  the  common  text  the  Vatican  is  remarkable  for 
its  condensations,  the  Beza  for  its  amplifications.  For 
example  if  the  common  text  should  say,  Then  Jesus 
again  ivent  up  to  Jerusalem^  it  would  be  characteristic 
for  the  Vatican  to  express  itself  thus :  Jesus  ivent  to 
Jerusalem.     As  already  shown  the  Vatican  has  not  yet 


80  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

been  examined  with  suffieient  minuteness  to  speak 
with  strict  accuracy  on  this  subject ;  but  critics  affirm 
that  from  examinations  ahx^ady  made,  more  than  one 
thousand  instances  in  all  the  New  Testament  of  such 
condensations  are  found  in  the  Vatican  as  compared 
with  other  texts.  Of  the  Beza  manuscript  there  has 
been  the  fullest  opportunity  for  examination,  and 
therefore  we  can  be  quite  explicit  in  our  designation 
of  the  amplifications  to  be  found  in  it.  In  Acts  xi.  25, 
the  common  text  says  of  Barnabas,  He  luent  to  Tarsus 
to  seek  Saul,  and  finding  him  brought  him  to  Antioch. 
The  Beza  gives  it  thus :  A7id  hearing  that  Saul  was  at 
Tarsus,  he  icent  there  to  seek  him  /  and  ivhen  he  hap 
pened  to  meet  him,  he  entreated  him  to  come  to  Antioch. 
In  the  narrative  of  Peter's  visit  to  Cornelius,  Acts  x. 
after  verse  24,  the  Beza  manuscript  thus  particularizes : 
And  Peter,  drawing  near  to  Caesarea,  one  of  the  serv- 
ants running  before  announced  him,  and  Cornelius  run- 
ning out  and  meeting  him,  etc. 

Such  amplifications,  as  is  readily  seen,  no  more  change 
the  sense  or  import  of  the  New  Testament,  than  do  the 
condensations  of  the  Vatican.  But  sometimes  the 
Beza  makes  a  veritable  addition  to  the  common  text, 
a  new  statement,  but  always  in  the  same  line  of  thought 
and  to  the  same  purport.  For  example,  at  Luke  vi.  5, 
after  the  conversation  in  regard  to  working  on  the 
Sabbath,  the  Beza  adds :  And  on  the  same  day,  seeing 
a  man  at  work  on  the  Sahbath,  he  said  to  him,  man,  if 
thou  knoiuest  ivhat  thou  art  doing,  blessed  art  thou  /  but 
if  thou  knowest  not,  thou  ai^t  accursed  a7id  a  transgressor 
of  the  laic. 

We  must  here  remark  that  the  Beza  is  the  least  reli- 


MSS.OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT.  81 

able  of  tlie  five  ancient  manuscripts  we  have  selected 
for  description,  and  that  being  written  at  a  later  period 
and  for  the  use  of  the  western  churches,  it  probably 
incorporated  into  the  text  circumstances  the  memory  of 
which  had  been  perpetuated  in  the  East  simply  by 
tradition.  Doubtless  the  Vatican  is  much  nearer  to 
the  autographs  of  the  original  writers  than  the  Beza. 
Various  Readings.  From  the  thousand  manuscripts 
(more  or  less)  of  the  Greek  Testament,  or  parts  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  which  have  already  been  examined, 
critics  have  selected  about  50,000  various  readings. 
But  most  of  them  are  simple  differences  of  orthogra- 
phy, as  if  the  word  labor  were  spelled  in  one  manu- 
script with  the  u,  and  in  another  without  it.  Very  many 
are  simple  diversities  in  the  collocation  of  the  words 
— as  if  one  should  say,  Jesus  went  to  Jerusalem^  and 
another.  To  Jerusalem  Jesus  tvent.  Not  50  of  the 
50,000  make  any  change  in  the  meaning  whatever; 
and  among  these  fifty  the  most  important  changes  are 
such  as  those  which  have  already  been  noticed  in  the 
comparisons  made  on  a  preceding  page.  The  uni- 
formity and  purity  of  the  text  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, when  we  consider  how  old  a  book  it  is,  and  for 
how  many  ages  it  was  propagated  only  in  manuscript 
before  the  art  of  printing  was  known,  and  when  we 
call  to  mind  the  vicissitudes  of  persecution  and  corrup- 
tion and  superstition  and  unbelief  and  bigotry  and  dog- 
matism and  latitudinarianism,  through  which  the  Chris- 
tian churches  have  passed  in  that  time, — is  perfectly 
amazing,  and  beyond  that  of  any  other  book  in  the 
world  of  frequent  publication  and  wide  extent.  Mil- 
ton and  Bunyan  and  Shakespeare,  though  scarcely  more 
6 


82  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

than  two  centuries  old,  and  always  having  the  advan- 
tages of  type  and  printing,  open  a  much  wider  field 
for  various  readings  than  any  part  of  the  Greek  Tes- 
tament, the  latest  book  of  which  has  been  in  existence 
more  than  seventeen  centuries.  On  this  subject  I  can 
not  do  better  than  quote  the  following  from  the  North 
American  Review  in  an  article  on  Prof  Norton's  work 
on  the  New  Testament. 

"  It  seems  strange  that  the  text  of  Shakespeare, 
which  has  been  in  existence  less  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  should  be  far  more  uncertain  and  corrupt 
than  that  of  the  New  Testament,  now  over  eighteen 
centuries  old,  during  nearly  fifteen  of  which  it  existed 
only  in  manuscript.  The  industry  of  collators  and 
commentators  indeed  has  collected  a  formidably  array 
of  '  various  readings '  in  the  Greek  text  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  the  number  of  those  which  have  any  good 
claim  to  be  received,  and  which  also  seriously  affect 
the  sense,  is  so  small  that  they  may  almost  be  counted 
upon  the  fingers.  With  perhaps  a  dozen  or  twenty 
exceptions,  the  text  of  every  verse  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment may  be  said  to  be  so  far  settled  by  the  general 
consent  of  scholars,  that  any  dispute  as  to  its  meaning 
must  relate  rather  to  the  interpretation  of  the  words, 
than  to  any  doubts  respecting  the  words  themselves. 
But  in  every  one  of  Shakespears  thirty-seven  plays, 
there  are  probably  a  hundred  readings  still  in  dispute, 
a  large  proportion  of  which  materially  affect  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passages  in  which  they  occur."  It  may  be 
added  that  it  is  perfectly  understood  among  scholars, 
that  no  one  doctrine  of  Scripture  of  any  importance 
and  no  practical  duty,  are  at  all  impugned  or  materially 


MSS.     OF     THE     NEW     TESTAMENT,  83 

affected  by  these  "  various  readings."  Nineteen-twen- 
tieths  of  them  are  of  no  more  importance  than  the 
question,  whether  the  words  laboy\  honor ^  &c.,  should 
be  written  with  or  without  the  additional  vowel. 

A  stronger  case  even  than  that  of  Shakespeare  has 
lately  come  to  the  notice  of  the  writer.  From  a  com- 
parison of  the  manuscript  of  Edwards'  Work  on  the 
Will,  published  within  the  last  century  under  the  super- 
intendence of  his  own  descendants,  it  may  be  made 
apparent  that  the  text  is  more  at  variance  with  the 
original  and  more  open  to  objections  of  this  character 
than  our  authorized  version  itself. 

The  first  printed  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament 
that  was  ever  published,  was  issued  from  the  press  of 
John  Frobenius  in  Basel,  in  March  1516.  It  con- 
tained both  the  Greek  and  Latin  text,  together  with 
annotations,  and  was  hastily  and  rather  carelessly  pre- 
pared by  Erasmus.  In  subsequent  editions  it  was 
greatly  improved.  The  Greek  manuscripts  which  he 
used  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  university  library  at 
Basel.  They  are  of  comparatively  recent  date,  and 
of  inferior  authority.  In  his  Greek  manuscript  of  the 
Revelation  the  last  six  verses  were  missing,  and  he 
supplied  the  defect  as  well  as  he  could  by  himself  trans- 
lating these  verses  from  the  Vulgate  Latin  into  Greek. 
Cardinal  Ximenes  had  already  prepared  a  better 
edition  in  Spain  from  better  manuscripts  ;  but  this  was 
not  published  till  the  year  1522,  when  it  came  out  as 
a  part  of  the  famous  Complutensian  Polyglott  Bible,  the 
greatest  work  of  that  great  statesman  and  ecclesiastic. 
Since  then,  the  printed  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament 
have  been  almost  innumerable  ;  and  by  the  labors  of 


84^  THE     BOOKS    OF    THE     BIBLE, 

such  scholars  as  Wetstein,  Griesbach,  Lachmann,  Tre- 
gelles,  and  Tischendorf,  the  text  has  been  brought  to 
a  degree  of  accuracy  and  perfection  such  as  belongs 
to  no  other  ancient  book  that  was  ever  printed.  Any 
objection  to  the  New  Testament  on  the  ground  that 
its  present  text  is  uncertain  must  proceed  either  from 
the  most  deplorable  ignorance  in  regard  to  such  mat- 
ters, or  from  a  spirit  of  the  most  hopeless  cavilling. 

Our  present  division  into  chapters  and  verses  is  com- 
paratively modern,  the  chapters  going  no  farther  back 
than  the  thirteenth  century,  and  the  verses  being  as  re- 
cent as  the  sixteenth.  Neither  do  we  claim  any  divine 
authority  for  the  punctuation  or  the  division  into 
words  \  but  among  intelligent  readers  of  the  original 
there  will  be  found  very  little  occasion  for  difference 
of  opinion  on  either  of  these  points.^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  THIRD. 

For  the  following  fac-similes  I  am  indebted  princi- 
pally to  the  published  writings  of  Prof  Tischendorf, 
Dr.  Hartwell  Home,  Dr.  Christopher  Wordsworth,  and 
the  Rev.  Frederick  Henry  Scrivener. 


ILLUSTRATION    A. 

No.  1  is  the  English  of  John  i.  1-7,  printed  in  square  Roman  cap 
itals  without  any  division  of  words,  just  Hke  the  old  Greek  manu 
scripts  represented  in  the  following  illustrations.  It  will  be  found  oi 
trial  that  such  writings  are  not  so  difficult  to  be  read  as  might  at  firs 
be  supposed. 

No.  2  is  John  xiv.  6,  represented  in  the  same  way  with  the  Greel 
in  a  parallel  column  for  the  purpose  of  comparison. 

No.  3.  is  Matt.  i.  18,  19,  with  the  parallel  column  of  Greek. 


ILLUSTRATION     A. 


Inthebeginningwasthewordandthewordwas 
witiigd^andgdwastheword- 
hewasixthebeginningwithgd 
allweremadebyhimandwith 
outh  [  m  w  asm  adenotone  thina 
that  \v  asm  adeinhimlife  was  _ 
andthelifewasthelightofmn 
andthelightindarknessshin 
ethandtiiedarknessdidnotitcompre 
hend-  there  wasam.nse 

Ntfromgodwhosename  was 

lOHNTHIS  CAME 

ASAWITNESSTHATTHEMIGHTTESTI 
FYCONCERNINGTHELIGHTTHATA 
LLMIGHTBELIEVETHROUGHHIM- 


AErEUTTROIS 
rSlEIMEIHO 
OIKJIHJAH 
IJKJlUZnH 

rj[:^EPXETJi 
po^TONnrl'A 

IMHJIEMO  T 


2. 

SAITHUNTOraMJs 
lAMTHEW 
AYANDTHETRU 
THANDTHELIFE 
yOMANCOMETH 

UNTOTHEFTllR 

BUTBYME 


3. 


Tqtjeix .\  rHrENEi:i2 o y 

Tjl  :^HNMNH2:  TE  r(-)E[ 
2*7/ v-  TH2MHTF02J  YTO... 

3iAFiyt::s  T<iisi^Hfi>npiN 

2  YNEAQEINJ  YTO  Y2:E  Y 
PHP)  HEN  FAS  TPIEX  0  Y2A- 


EKIli\2AriOY 
IP.  2  H  hj  E  OA  NHPA  Y  TH2 
J  IK  A  r  0  J-ii  NKA IMHSEA. . . 
A  Y  TH  NA  E I FMA  TE  12  A I 
EB  0  YA H(-) HAA  OPAAnOA  Y 
2AIA  YTHJV. 


nowthebirthofjschtth 

uswas-beingespou 

sediiismother 

jiarytojosePHbefore 

theycametogethershewas 

foundwitiichild 


bytheholysft* 
JosePHthknherhusband 
beingajust5ianandnotwill.. 
to-makeiierapublicexamplb 

WASMIXD  KDPlilVIL  YTOPUT 
HERAWAY. 


ILLUSTUATION    B. 

This  is  Luke  xxiv.  49-53,  in  exact  fac-simile  from  the  Shial  man- 
uscript. The  last  two  lines  are  the  words  euangelion  kata  loitkan, 
the  title  of  the  book,  as  in  most  of  these  manuscripts  the  title  is  at 
the  end  instead  of  the  beg'nning. 

The  line  at  the  top  of  the  page  is  the  clause  at  the  close  of  the 
53d  verse,  and  was  carried  up  into  heave7i,v,'\\ich.  was  not  in  the  man- 
uscript as  originally  written,  but  was  added  by  a  later  hand.  The 
difference  in  the  hand-writing  in  perfectly  obvious.  A  mark  between 
the  lines,  a  little  more  than  half  way  down  the  column,  ?hows  where 
the  correction  is  to  come  in.  It  is  to  be  read  iu  the  line  below  the 
mark. 


B. 
)/       s  -., 

Aa>THNen>srr€A/ 
KNToynxrf  ocM«T 
^<pYMAcYMeic 

n  oAei  ecD  coYcH 

AYNAMIN 
ecocn  pocRhieA 

NIAHKAlenAfA^ 
TXC  X I P  AC  AYTO  YH 

yxor  H  CG  N  AYToY^ 
KArereNjeroeN 

TCJUGYXor*  N  ATT'^ 
AYTOYCAIGjCTH 
An  AY  T^-l^  NX  A  J  AY_ 
TOin  pOCKYNHCK 

xecAYTo  N  YTi  eo 
TPe^KNelciepoY 

CAAH  MM  CTKXA 
pACMCrAAHCKM 
HCAN  AlAnAN'P^ 

e  N  Tu:>  I  e  p  cx>  ey^o 
roYNTecTONON 

IYAJT^^I'H. 

TCATXAfYKAN^ 


ILLUSTRATION    C. 

No.  1,  John  i.  1-7,  in  exact  fac-simile  of  the  Alexandrian  manu- 
script.    In  this  extract  there  is  no  defect  in  the  writing. 

No.  2,  is  Rev.  i.  1-4,  from  the  same  manuscript ;  but  the  first  let- 
ters of  most  of  the  lines,  as  shown  by  the  dots,  have  become  obliter- 
ated by  the  ravages  of  time.  It  will  be  seen,  on  trial,  that  such  slight 
imperfections  do  not  at  all  obscure  the  sense  in  reading. 


c. 
1 


r 


ONXfXHHNOXOrOCjCXIOXOroCH 

/TrPOCTOH0HK3^ieCHNOAOrOC 
OYTOCHNeNXfXHTrpOCTONOH 
TTANTicXlAVTOYereHeTO  KADC^ 

feiCAYTOYereNBTOOYJ^eeN" 

OrerONeNGNXYTCDZCOHHN* 
KXIHXCOH  H  NTOCbCDCTCDNXNcOH 
|<XITOd>CX)CeNTHC§^OTIXC|>AI 
NerKXBHCKOTBX>S<YTOOYKXTe 

^r>^xxBeN*        ereNexo^NOCATre 
V^TAXMeNocTrxpxeYONOMxvr 

TCDICDXNNHC  OYTOCHXeeN 


7 


eiCMXpTYfiXMINXMXpTYpH 

ChnTepiTOVC|>CJDTOClNXTTXM 

T6CTnCTeYC0UCIHA.IXYTOY- 


*c««J5^eiXX|XOlCJb.OYA.OICXYTOYXu5s.eirC 

*»  •*  cexjeMTxxerKxiecHMXNieMXTTO 
««^efAxcL2i.ixa^oYxrrexoYJkVTcrv*TOYAX3YP^oy 

*•-  TOYfCDXNJMH  •  OCeMXpTYpHCeKJTOM 
•*orOMTOYeY  KXITHKIMXPTYplXMi YXV 

«<cxVx.efsi  Mxi<ApiocoxMxriMcix:i<cjDrsl« 
•*  XcQixj  <oYONJTecTOYCXoroYcrrHO 

•f  odDHTeiXCI  <XIXf-1POYMTeCTXeMXY 

tTHr^rpxMMeM^  6r>.pKxiPocerrYC^ 

/CD>.MtslHCXXlCeiT'rxei<l<XHCfXfCTXl(K 

eisiTiixcix;    iK:xpJc^av4l^4l<xlelpH^iri 


ILLUSTRATION    D. 

No.  1,  is  Psalm  i.  1,  2,  and  the  first  line  of  verse  3,  in  exact  fac- 
simile of  the  Vatican  manuscript,  exhibiting  the  mode  in  which  the 
poetical  books  are  there  written,  in  stichois  as  it  is  called. 

No.  2,  is  Ezekiel  i.  1-3,  from  the  same  manuscript.  "We  are 
obliged  here  to  give  our  illusl  ration  from  the  Old  Testament  instead 
of  the  New,  because  the  stupid  jealousy  of  the  Papal  court  has  never 
yet  allowed  a  fac- simile  of  any  pai't  of  the  New  Testament  to  be 
taken.*  The  writing  however  is  the  same  in  both  parts,  and  the  illus- 
trations above  from  Psalms  and  Ezekiel  give  a  very  suiEcient  idea 
of  the  whole  manuscript. 


*  By  the  exertions  of  Prof.  Tischendorf,  we  have  now  reason  to  hope  that  a 
different  policy  will  heieafter  be  pursued. 


w 


D. 

[Z= =:] 

M2<KAp(oc^^NHpo  c^oy  Ke  no  j>eY0'''^M 

All    K^i eNO AcoXrHA.|>"rit)AcoNOYKec'rH 
<-^  °^   kAI  GniK  AG  GivP>*vNAO  m<pNoYKel<A£'^e 
Kx  \  ft  en  T to  N  o  M  to i<y TO e  cXh m  aattV 

H  M  ep A C  KX I N  YK T o^c 
N^    e  CT/^ia>cTo3  Y  ^o '^To  ne  <|:>YT€Y 


KX»6^€^^eTO£'1TCAi'rpjA 

Kocira>e  res  TeT^/^TLo 

M  N  N  { n  € M  n  TK  T O-r  M  ^tK/l>*- 
K  AI  t  rou  H  A'i  H  N  £N  M  t  C  u; 
T MC  A> /X M  M<tU  C «  AC  €  r7 /To)' 
noTAMOYTOYXOBAf/^*^! 

KA.l6tA.05MOf  ^cejCern^^- 
JlTWTo'Y^HMoC    TOY'Ts 
TOexOC  Ton^MnTONTi-ic 

AJ  Xm^XcD  C  /^C  XOT^  At  I 

^G  CO  c  J  ou  ^K€  ^  M  XA/  ere 
Ne"roAG  ro  qkyh  poc  !€ 

iefe^€NrHXAXA.AJCUN6 

n « T  ©T  rro  TAM  OYTO  Y?<p 

J?^f  KAlCf*€N€-rO€r7€MC 
^N^€I.Alp^NMpX£TOA'(e 
AHCHfeOTTtM 


ILLUSTRATION    E. 

This  is  the  famous  text,  1  Tim.  iii.  9-15,  in  exact  fac  simile  of  the 
Ephraera  manuscript  palimpsest.  The  pale  writing  is  the  New  Tes- 
tament passage  in  Greek,  and  the  bright  black  lines  are  a  part  of  one 
of  St.  Ephraem's  sermons  in  Greek,  to  provide  material  for  which, 
on  account  of  the  dearness  of  parchment,  the  New  Testament  itself 
had  been  obliterated.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  very  little  diffi- 
culty in  reading  the  original  Greek. 


■J  "^(T-Xi  M*' 


I- 


ff\ 


ILLUSTRATION    F. 

This  illustration  is  designed  to  exhibit  the  differences  of  hand-writing 
in  which  the  various  corrections  are  made  from  time  to  time  in  an- 
cient manuscripts  ;  and  how  wo  are  able  to  detect,  by  the  style  of  the 
penmanship,  the  comparative  age  of  each  of  the  corrections.  The 
specimens  are  all  from  the  Sinai  manuscript. 

No.  1,  is  John  V.  G-9. 

No.  2,  is  John  vi.  14,  15. 

No.  3,  is  a  correction  in  Matt.  v.  45. 

No.  4,  is  a  correction  in  Matt.  x.  39. 

No.  5,  is  a  correction  in  2  Cor.  x.  12. 

No.  G,  is  a  correction  in  Matt.  ix.  10. 

No   7,  is  a  correction  in  Matt.  iii.  13,  14. 

No  8,  is  a  correction  in  Luke  xxiv.  51. 

No,  9,  is  a  correction  iu  Matt,  xxiii.  35. 


F. 
1 


TCOyAATBHONON 
AAA  6  NTCO YA  KTI 
KAITCpAi  M  ATI  kM 

Ton  NA6CTINTO 
MAfTYpOTNOTfT- 
rTNAeCTlNriA\H 

eeiAOTioiTpei^^l 
clHOlUJsfTyfoT 

TecTO  n  M  ak:ai  roy 

ACD/>KA?TOArMA 

KAiofTfeicejcT 
TY  D  ^^  TQYOit^^^ 

2 

H  ce  NC H  Mei ON ^A^ 

ro  H  oy  TOcecT»N 
AAHOcoconpo^H  _ 

pTH  CO e I  CTON  K- ai« 

efXOMeNoc 
fcoYNPNoycoTi 
M  G  Axoyci  Mepx<^ 
ce  AF  KXI  Ar  n  AZei  N 
AYTOfsf  kX  I  Xm  a  V/napoih 

^^  i^cNXWii  ^  ^^'  ^^^ '""' 

^a>eYresn  AAl  N€hT'> 

Oj^OCMONOC  AYTo  *^ 


ILLUSTHATION    F— Continued. 

No.  10,  is  a  caligraphic  flourish, 

No.  11,  is  a  correction  in  Rev.  xi.  1. 

No.  1 2,  is  a  correction  in  Isaiah  viii.  22. 

No.  13,  is  a  correction  in  1  Tim.  iii.  16. 

No.  14,  is  a  correction  in.  Matt.  xix.  3. 

No.  15,  is  a  sentence  by  a  certain  monk  who  had  been  employed 
on  the  manuscript,  or  had  the  use  of  it,  nearly  as  late  as  the  twelfth 
century.  The  meaning  is  this :  Remember,  Lord,  the  soul  of  the  sin- 
ner Dionysius  the  monk,  when  thou  earnest  into  thy  kingdom.  Such 
sentences  are  not  uncommon  in  the  ancient  Bible  manuscripts.  They 
form  no  part  of  the  text,  and  are  simply  pious  ejaculations  of  the 
writers  or  readers.  In  this  instance  the  ugly,  awkward,  cramped, 
barbarous  hand  shows  plainly  enough  a  later  and  barbarous  period, 
and  contrasts  very  strongly  with  the  neat,  plain  and  not  inelegant 
hand  of  the  original  writer  of  the  manuscript.  The  difference  in  the 
writing,  in  each  instance,  is  well  worthy  of  study,  and  of  great  interest 
to  the  investigator. 


0  ovcKM  E  pexi  en  hfsu 

J^  4 

'p  5 

TO  I  c hS^e  t f  oyN  Tec 


CAOOHTTtO 


KXI  XMAprCDXO) 

7 

8 

9 

^7  M  Xroczx"XAplT^5'7^^^>^''Y 

ToxHceYceRGi^xc 
MycTH  fi  ON  oce 

ro  N  Tec  6  r  ei  e^^i^^  f 


ILLUSTRATION    G. 

This  Is  a  fac  simile  of  Acts  vii.  2,  from  the  Codex  Laudianus,  a 
very  valuable  manuscript  of  the  sixth  century,  now  in  the  Bodleian 
library  at  Oxford.  The  right  hand  column  is  the  original  Greek, 
and  the  left  hand  a  Latin  translation.  It  will  be  seen  how  closely, 
at  that  period,  the  Latin  and  Gi'eek  alphabets  resembled  each  other, 
and  how  very  short  the  lines  in  which  the  ancient  manuscripts  were 
often  written. 


G. 


0 

C/) 


75 
C 


^ 


o 

75 


J        ^        -K  S** 


00 


(75 


0) 


-  -^  g  ^  0  ^-/^^  ^  y 

"^^  Q  ox 


X  b 

a: 

0 


l^ 

Og 


ILLUSTRATION    IL 

This  illustration  is  intended  to  indicate  the  transition  from  the 
square  capitals,  in  which  the  Greek  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment were  written  previous  to  the  tenth  century,  to  the  cursive  or 
running  hand  which  came  into  use  subsequent  to  that  period,  and 
gave  form  to  the  Greek  type  used  when  printing  was  introduced. 

No.  1,  is  the  beginning  of  John's  Gospel,  i.  1-10,  as  presented  in 
an  elegant  manuscript  of  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
It  is  called  the  Codex  Ehnerianus,  and  belongs  to  the  University  of 
Oxford. 

No-  2,  is  Matt.  XV.  1,  2,  in  exact  fac  simile  from  an  elegant  manu- 
script of  the  Gospels  in  the  city  of  Basle,  as  early  as  tiie  tenth  cen- 
tury, and  probably  among  the  earliest  that  were  written  in  the  cur- 
sive character. 


c^-^r^r'^j^i^'Jsr^F^ 


> 


I^  ^  <f)  CO  c  e|J  tS  o-U-^  "n'^o^  Cj>  tw'p  ^  •  K  al  H  aiio 
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2 


CHAPTER    FOURTH. 

BRIEF  BIOGRAPHIES  OF  ONE  HUNDRED  OF  THE  ANCIENT 
WITNESSES  TO  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  BOOKS,  WHOSE 
TESTIMONY  IS  MOST  IMPORTANT  AND  MUCH  OF  IT  CITED 
IN  THE  FOLLOWING  PAGES. 

This  list  includes  not  only  orthodox  Christians,  but 
also  Jews,  heretics,  pagans,  and  infidels.  Where  testi- 
mony from  such  varied  smd  even  opposing  sources  is 
really  coincident  and  self-consistent,  it  must  be  substan- 
tially correct. 

As  we  have  affirmed  in  chapter  second  that  the  tes- 
timony on  which  the  genuineness  of  the  sacred  books 
of  the  New  Testament  rests,  is  as  good  as  any  human 
testimxony  whatever  on  any  subject,  we  -prooeed  now 
to  submit  to  the  reader  a  brief  account  of  the  princi- 
pal witnesses. 

Agrippa  Castor^  lived  under  the  emperor  Hadrian, 
about  A.  D.  120.  He  wrote  a  work  in  29  books 
against  Basilides  of  Alexandria,  the  Egyj)tian  Gnostic. 
This  work  was  read  by  Eusebius,  and  is  referred  to  by 
him  in  very  high  terms  in  E.  H.  iv.  Agrippa  was 
highly  distinguished  as  a  man  of  extensive  learning, 
and  he  was  confided  in  as  a  man  of  integrity  and 
truthfulness.     Jerome,  Catal  Script,  c.  20. 

Alexander^  Bishop  of  Alexandria  from  A.  D.  312  to 
326.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  controversy 
against  Arius  and  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of 


102  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Nice,  A.  D.  325.  He  wrote  letters  to  various  bishops 
respecting  the  Arian  controversy.  Of  these  there  are 
now  extant,  one  to  Alexander,  bishop  of  Byzantium, 
in  Theodoret  i.  1 ;  another  to  the  Catholic  bishops 
generally  throughout  the  world,  in  Socrates  i.  6  ;  some 
fragments  of  a  letter  against  the  Arians,  and  a  short 
epistle  to  the  elders  and  deacons  of  Alexandria  in  Cot- 
elerius. 

Ameh'us,  named  also  Gentilianus^  born  in  Tuscany 
in  the  third  century.  He  was  a  Platonic  philosopher, 
a  disciple  of  Plotinus,  and  wrote  in  defence  of  his 
master. 

Ambrose  was  born  in  333,  the  son  of  a  Roman 
proconsul  in  Gaul.  He  held  an  office  in  Milan,  and  in 
the  midst  of  a  fierce  controversy  for  the  vacant  bish- 
opric there,  he,  though  a  mere  civilian,  was  suddenly 
chosen  to  the  dignity  by  popular  acclamation.  He  ac- 
cepted the  appointment  with  reluctance,  but  held  it 
with  great  activity  and  conscientiousness  till  his  death 
in  397.  Of  his  courage  and  decision  in  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties  he  gave  a  brilliant  proof  in  his 
treatment  of  the  emperor  Theodosius,  whom  he  with- 
stood at  the  door  of  his  church  and  compelled  him  to 
submit  to  the  regular  church  discipline,  on  account  of 
some  cruelties  of  which  he  had  been  guilty.  The 
feeble  attempt  of  Gibbon  to  deprive  Ambrose  of  all 
the  credit  of  this  daring  act  of  official  duty,  only  shows 
the  shallowness  of  the  claims  of  the  infidel  historian  to 
freedom  from  partizan  bias,  on  which  he  so  much 
values  himself  Ambrose  was  eminent  for  his  services 
as  a  writer  of  hymns  and  promoter  of  church  music. 
His  writings,  still  extant,  are  numerous  and  easily  acces- 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  103 

sible.  He  was  a  man  of  great  native  nobleness  of 
character  as  well  as  of  Christian  conscientiousness  and 
unshaken  intrepidity  in  the  discharge  of  his  Christian 
obligations. 

Ammonms.  There  are  two  witnesses  of  this  name. 
One  is  the  celebrated  Ammonius  Saccas,  who  gave  a 
more  definite  form  to  the  eclecticism  of  the  new  Pla- 
tonists,  and  was  the  philosophical  teacher  of  Origen 
about  250.     He  remained  all  his  life  a  pagan. 

Cotemporary  with  him  there  was  also  a  Christian 
Ammonius,  whose  writings,  some  of  which  are  still 
extant,  are  quoted  by  both  Eusebius  and  Jerome. 
Among  these  are  a  treatise  on  the  agreement  of  Moses 
and  Jesus,  and  a  harmony  of  the  Gospels. 

Amphilocliius  of  Cappadocia,  at  first  a  monk  and  af- 
terwards bishop  of  Iconium  in  Lycaonia.  He  was  a 
strenuous  opponent  of  the  Arians,  and  influenced  the 
emperor  Theodosius  to  issue  an  edict  against  them. 
He  was  present  at  the  synod  of  Constantinople  in  394. 
He  was  highly  esteemed  by  Basil  the  great.  Most  of 
his  writings,  which  consisted  mainly  of  sermons  and  bi- 
ographies, are  lost ;  but  one  of  his  poetical  works,  still 
extant,  contains  a  complete  catalogue  of  the  Christian 
writings  as  they  were  received  in  his  time.  This  how- 
ever is  by  some  ascribed  to  Gregory  of  Nazianzen. 

Andreas^  once  bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia, 
about  the  year  500,  wrote  a  commentary  on  the  Revela- 
tion which  is  still  extant,  and  is  in  many  respects  a 
work  of  great  interest  and  importance. 

Appelles^  about  the  year  188,  was  a  disciple  of  Mar- 
cion,  and  a  fellow  student  of  Lucian.  After  having 
been  excommunicated  by  Marcion  for  the  alleged  crime 


104  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  unchastity,  he  founded  a  Gnostic  sect  of  his  own. 
He  is  quoted  by  Ambrose,  and  notwithstanding  his 
rather  doubtful  moral  character,  there  is  no  ground 
for  the  impeachment  of  his  testimony  in  regard  to  the 
Sacred  Books  in  use  among  the  Christians  of  his  time. 
He  had  neither  interests  nor  prejudices,  which,  so  far 
as  we  can  judge,  would  induce  him  to  give  false  testi- 
mony on  such  a  subject  as  this. 

Apollonius.  In  the  first  century  after  Christ,  there 
was  a  pagan  of  this  name,  from  Tyana  in  Cappadocia. 
He  was  said  to  be  a  worker  of  miracles ;  he  traveled 
extensively  as  a  teacher  of  morals  and  religion,  and 
his  miracles  were  often  claimed  to  be  on  a  level  with 
those  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  A  few  of  his  letters  are  still 
extant ;  and  a  biography  of  him  principally  from  the 
writings  of  Philostratus,  was  published  by  the  English 
deist  Blount,  in  1680. 

The  Christian  Apollonius  was  a  presbyter  at  Ephesus, 
and  an  active  opponent  of  Montanus.  He  lived  late 
in  the  third  century,  and  is  quoted  by  Eusebius. 

Arclielaus^  a  bishop  in  Mesopotamia,  about  the  year 
277,  and  one  of  the  first  opponents  of  the  sect  of  the 
Manicheans. 

Aretas^  archbishop  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia,  about 
540,  the  author  of  a  commentary  on  Revelation  which 
is  still  extant.  ♦ 

Ariiis^  the  much  celebrated  founder  of  the  sect  of 
A-rians,  was  the  son  of  Ammonius,  from  Lybia  or  Alex- 
andria, and  a  contemporary  of  Constantino.  He  was 
presbyter  at  Alexandria,  under  the  bishop  Alexander, 
when  he  first  propounded  his  doctrine  that  the  Son  is 
created  and  not  from  eternity.     Condemned  by  the 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  105 

Council  of  Nice  in  325  he  was  banished.  He  made  his 
submissions  in  a  creed  artfully  worded,  and  returned 
to  Alexandria,  whence  he  was  expelled  by  Atha- 
nasius  his  chief  opponent.  Repairing  to  Constantino- 
ple, the  emperor,  much  against  the  wishes  of  the  Datri- 
arch  Alexander,  peremptorily  required  that  he  should 
be  again  received  into  the  communion  of  the  Alexan- 
drian church  ;  but  before  this  requisition  could  be  for- 
mally carried  out,  he  died  very  suddenly,  not  without 
suspicion  of  poison,  in  the  year  336.  Some  of  his 
writings,  consisting  principally  of  poems  and  letters, 
are  still  extant,  and  contain  a  variety  of  important  tes- 
timony which  there  is  no  reason  to  impeach. 
|.  ^Arnohius^  a  teacher  of  rhetoric  at  Sicca  in  Africa, 
near  the  close  of  the  third  century,  was  at  first  an  open 
opponent  of  Christianity.  By  a  remarkable  dream  he 
was  brought  to  acknowledge  Christ,  and  requested 
baptism  of  the  bishop  of  Sicca,  who  required,  as  a 
proof  of  the  sincerity  and  genuineness  of  his  conver- 
sion, that  he  should  write  a  book  in  defence  of  the 
Christian  faith.  This  gave  occasion  to  his  celebrated 
work,  entitled  Disputations  against  the  Gentiles,  now 
indeed  far  more  valuable  for  its  testimony  to  facts 
than  for  its  logical  arguments. 

Athanasius  succeeded  Alexander  in  the  episcopal 
dignity  at  Alexandria  in  326,  and  died  in  373.  His 
whole  ofiicial  life  was  spent  in  heated  and  violent  con- 
troversy with  Arius  and  the  Arians,  sometimes  trium- 
phant and  sometimes  conquered,  so  that,  of  the  forty- 
six  years  of  his  bishopric,  twenty  were  spent  in  exile. 
It  was  not  till  after  the  death  of  the  emperor  Valens, 
that  his   triumph  became  complete  and  permanent. 


106  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

The  creed  which  bears  his  name  was  not  his  composi- 
tion, but  a  large  number  of  his  Avritings  are  extant, 
easily  accessible  and  of  great  value. 

Athe7iagoras  was  a  philosopher  of  Athens  about  the 
year  160.  After  his  conversion  to  Christianity  he 
wrote  an  apology  for  the  Christians,  directed  to  the 
emperor  Marcus  Aurelius  and  his  son  Commodus,  and  a 
treatise  on  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  a  subject  of 
great  interest  at  Athens,  as  we  learn  from  the  apostle 
Paul,  Acts  xvii.  These  writings  are  both  still  accessi- 
ble. : 

Aurelius  Augustin,  the  son  of  Patricius  and  Monica, 
was  born  at  Tagaste  in  Africa,  in  the  year  359.  In 
early  life,  through  the  influence  of  bad  associates,  he 
was  much  given  to  dissipation,  and  was  'for  a  consid- 
erable time  partial  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Manichaeans. 
He  lived  at  Rome  and  later  at  Milan  as  a  teacher  of 
rhetoric.  By  the  influence  of  Ambrose  especially  he 
he  was  led  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  particu- 
larly the  Epistles  of  Paul.  After  a  long  and  severe 
inward  struggle,  he  became  a  convert  to  Christianity, 
and  returned  to  Africa  first  as  a  priest  and  afterwards 
as  bishop  of  Hippo,  in  which  last  position  he  remained 
during  his  life.  He  was  the  most  powerful  and 
influential  of  all  the  teachers  of  the  Latin  church. 
Particularly  by  his  conflict  with  the  Pelagians  he  came 
to  precise  statements  respecting  the  doctrines  of  sin 
and  grace,  and  thus  became  the  most  celebrated  the- 
ologian of  the  Christian  world.  His  writings  are  volu- 
minous and  of  easy  access. 

Bardesanes  was  a  native  of  Mesopotamia  and  lived 
at  Edessa  about   170.     He  at  first  belonged  to  the 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  107 

orthodox  church,  then  became  a  convert  to  Valentinus, 
then  became  the  founder  of  a  Gnostic  system  of  his 
own,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  returned  to 
sounder  views.  He  was  a  man  of  candor,  acuteness 
and  learning.  He  wrote  much  in  the  Syrian  language, 
and  his  works  were  so  highly  esteemed  that  they  were 
translated  into  Greek  and  widely  read.  He  published 
refutations  of  Marcion  and  almost  all  the  heretics  of 
his  time  ;  he  composed  a  dialogue  on  fate  dedicated  to 
Antoninus,  a  work  on  the  persecutions  to  which  the 
Christians  were  subjected,  etc.  Eusebius  gives  him  a 
high  character.     E.  H.  xx.  30. 

Barnabas^  a  Levite  of  Cyprus,  according  to  Clement 
of  Alexandria  one  of  the  seventy  disciples.  He  was 
the  companion  of  Paul  at  Antioch  and  also  on  his  first 
missionary  journey ;  and  after  his  separation  from  Paul 
he  went  with  Mark  to  Cyprus,  and  probably  to  other 
places,  preaching  the  gospel.  There  is  an  interesting 
epistle  which  the  ancients  universally  ascribe  to  him, 
though  it  has  been  doubted  by  some  of  the  moderns. 
It  is  contained  entire  in  the  original  Greek  in  the 
famous  Sinai  manuscript  discovered  by  Tischendorf 
It  has  been  often  published,  was  highly  esteemed  in 
the  ancient  church,  and  though  in  its  present  form  it 
may  contain  some  interpolations,  there  is  no  good  rea- 
son for  rejecting  it  as  a  wdiole. 

Basilides^  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Egyptian 
Gnostics,  lived  at  the  close  of  the  first  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  century.  He  propagated  his  senti- 
ments With  great  activity,  zeal  and  power,  in  Africa 
and  Asia,  assigning  great  prominence  to  the  doctrines 
of  emanation  and  dualism.     He  wrote  a  commentary 


108  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

on  tlie  Gospels  in  24  books,  wliicli  was  refuted  bj 
Agrippa  Castor,  and  from  wliicli  subsequent  Christian 
writers  have  made  many  extracts.  An  apocryphal 
gospel  is  also  ascribed  to  him.  His  testimony  is  very 
valuable  as  to  the  Gospels  and  other  New  Testament 
books  received  in  his  time.     Eusebius,  H.  E.  iv.  7. 

Basil  the  Great.,  the  brother  of  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
was  born  at  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia  near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  century.  He  studied  at  Antioch, 
Constantinople  and  Athens,  became  a  monk  and  a 
founder  of  monasteries  in  Pontus ;  he  was  afterwards 
a  presbyter  in  Caesarea,  his  native  place,  under  Euse- 
bius, but  disagreeing  with  his  bishop,  he  returned  to 
his  monkish  life  in  Pontus ;  and  again  becoming  recon- 
ciled to  Eusebius,  he  succeeded  him  as  bishop  of  Cae- 
sarea in  Cappadocia.  He  was  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished men  of  his  time  and  a  zealous  helper  of  Atha- 
nasius  in  his  conflict  with  the  Arians.  His  works  still 
extant  are  very  numerous  and  have  often  been  repub- 
lished. Among  them  we  have  428  letters,  9  homi- 
lies in  verse,  monastic  rules,  liturgies,  etc. 

Benjllus  was  bishop  of  Bostra  in  Arabia,  about  the 
year  290.  He  held  some  notions  respecting  the  person 
of  Christ,  which  Origen  so  effectually  refuted  that  he 
renounced  them  entirely,  and  became  in  consequence 
one  of  Origen's  firmest  and  most  devoted  friends. 

Cams,  a  presbyter  at  Rome  about  the  year  200. 
He  was  the  author  of  three  works  of  which  there  are 
fragments  preserved  by  Eusebius ;  and  the  Italian  Mu- 
ratori,  not  without  good  reason,  ascribes  to  hfm  a  frag- 
ment containing  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  interest- 
ing catalogues  in  existence  of  the  writings  of  the  New 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  109 

Testament  at  that  time  received.  He  is  very  often 
quoted  by  the  church  historian  Eusebius,  who  sets  great 
value  on  his  testimony.  The  important  fragment  re- 
ferred to  w^as  discovered  in  the  Ambrosian  library  at 
Milan  by  the  librarian  Muratori,  about  the  year  1720. 

Carpocrates  lived  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt  early  in 
the  second  century,  and  was  the  founder  of  an  anti- 
nomian  system  of  Gnosticism,  which  was  further  de- 
veloped and  propagated  by  his  son  Epiphanius.  He  is 
largely  quoted  by  Irenaeus,  Epiphanius  and  others. 

Cassianus  (Julius')^  a  Valentinian  Gnostic  of  the 
second  century,  whose  writings  are  quoted  by  Clement 
of  Alexandria. 

Cassiodorus  (^Magnus  Aurelius)  was  born  at  Cala- 
bria about  the  year  470.  He  was  prime  minister  of 
Theodoric,  and  was  engaged  in  political  life  with  great 
.  distinction  and  success  till  he  was  seventy  years  old. 
He  then  retired  to  a  monastery  founded  by  himself 
in  Calabria,  and  became  a  very  voluminous  writer  on 
religious  subjects,  living  to  be  more  than  ninety  years 
old. 

Celsus  was  a  heathen,  an  Epicurean  philosopher,  and 
a  violent  enemy  of  the  Christians.  He  lived  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  first  and  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century,  very  near  the  time  when  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament  were  first  collected  into  a  volume. 
He  wrote  a  very  elaborate  book  which  he  entitled  the 
True  Word  (or  Logos),  in  which  he  undertakes  to 
refute  the  Christians  out  of  their  own  writings.  He 
introduces  a  Jew  who  quotes  very  largely  from  the 
£!hristian  Scriptures.  The  very  object  and  plan  of  the 
work,  as  well  as  the  zeal  and  ability  of  the  author, 


110  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

make  it  an  invaluable  witness  to  the  Christian  books 
as  then  received.  Though  we  have  not  the  book  of 
Celsus  entire,  yet  in  the  refutation  of  it  by  Orig-en, 
there  are  very  large  and  literal  quotations  from  it,  in 
which  the  views  of  this  zealous  pagan  in  regard  to  the 
Christian  books,  as  he  read  them  at  that  early  period, 
are  very  fully  developed.  There  is  nowhere  to  be 
found  a  more  important  witness  to  the  integrity  and 
genuineness  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  than 
this  very  zealous  and  able  enemy  of  Christianity. 

Clirysostom  (JoJiii)  was  born  at  Antioch  about  the 
year  354.  He  was  one  of  the  most  effective  preachers 
of  the  Christian  church,  and  it  was  on  account  of  his 
eloquence  that  he  received  the  surname  of  Chrysostom 
or  Golden  Mouth.  He  was  patriarch  of  Constantino- 
ple, but  had  a  very  bitter  enemy  in  the  empress 
Eudoxia,  by  whose  influence  he  was  twice  banished, 
and  he  finally  died  in  exile  at  Comane  in  Pontus  in  the 
year  407.  His  writings  are  very  numerous,  consisting 
of  treatises,  sermons  and  letters;  they  have  been 
collected  with  great  care,  and  frequently  published  in 
very  handsome  volumes.  He  is  the  prince  of  the 
Greek  Church  Fathers. 

Claudius  Apollinaris  was  bishop  of  Hierapolis  in 
Phrygia  about  the  year  173,  and  an  able  and  zealous 
defender  of  the  Christian  truth.  The  ancients,  par- 
ticularly Eusebius  and  Jerome,  were  acquainted  with 
many  of  his  writings,  as  for  example,  an  apology  to 
the  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius,  five  books  against  the 
pagans,  two  respecting  the  truth,  two  against  the  Jews, 
letters  against  the  Montanists ;  but  none  of  these  ai'e 
now  extant. 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  Ill 

Clement  of  Rome^  the  same  spoken  of  by  Paul  in 
his  Epistle  to  the  Phil.  iv.  3,  was  a  Roman  by  birth,  a  dis- 
ciple of  the  apostles,  and  bishop  of  Home  at  the  close 
of  the  first  century.  Under  his  name  w^e  have  two 
epistles  to  the  church  at  Corinth,  the  first  genuine  and 
entire,  but  the  second  a  mere  fragment  and  of  doubt- 
ful authority.  The  book  ascribed  to  him,  under  the 
title  of  Recognitions^  is  a  religious  romance  in  ten 
books  w^hich  we  have  only  in  the  Latin  translation  of 
Rufinus.  The  Clementina^  19  homilies,  appear  to  be 
a  reproduction  of  the  Recognitions  in  a  modified  form. 
These  works  are  very  important  as  contributions  to 
the  history  of  the  Ebionites ;  they  belong  to  the  ear- 
liest period  of  Christian  literature  after  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  probably  may  be  the  genuine  works 
of  Clement  the  friend  of  Paul.  The  Canons  of  the 
Apostles,  and  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  are  more 
doubtful  as  to  their  authorship  ;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  five  letters,  one  of  which  is  directed 
to  the  apostle  James.  All  these  books  have  been 
many  times  published,  and  are  very  valuable  as  wit- 
nesses to  the  opinions  and  the  literature  of  the 
first  age  of  the  Christian  church  ;  and  they  all  tend  to 
confirm  the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  books, 
as  we  now  have  them. 

Clement  (^Titus  Flavins)  of  Alexandria^  was  by  birth 
a  pagan  and  well  instructed  in  all  the  branches  of 
Greek  literature.  He  received  his  Christian  instruc- 
tion from  the  celebrated  Alexandrian  teacher  Pantae- 
nus,  in  the  year  187  became  his  successor  in  the  presi- 
dency of  the  catechetic  school,  and  in  the  course  of  time 
had  the  world  famed  Origen  as  one  of  his  scholars.     His 


112  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Institutes,  in  which  he  gave  a  concise  view  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  are  lost,  except 
a  few  fragments  preserved  by  later  writers.  But  we 
have  five  entire  works  by  him  which  are  of  great  value 
and  which  in  their  day  laid  the  foundation  of  Christian 
theology  as  a  science.  We  see  in  all  his  writings  that 
he  used  the  same  Bible,  especially  the  same  New  Tes- 
tament, which  we  now  have. 

Cyprian  (^Thascius  Caecilius)  was  born  in  Carthage, 
of  pagan  parents,  about  the  year  200.     He  was  at  first 
a  teacher  of  rhetoric,  a  heathen,  a  man  of  genius,  and 
rather  dissipated.     In  245  he  was  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity by  means  of  Caecilius,  a  presbyter  of  Carthage, 
and  immediately  entered  the  service  of  the  church; 
and  though  he  lived  but  twelve  years  after  this,  by 
his  incessant  activity  and  great  strength  of  character 
he  rendered  services  which   have  placed   his   name 
among  the  highest  of  all  Christian  antiquity.     He  be- 
came bishop  of  Carthage  in  248  ;  during  the  Decian 
persecution  he  fled,  while  others  apostatised ;  and  the 
question  of  their  subsequent  restoration  gave  rise  to  a 
violent  controversy,  which  he  with  great  difficulty  sup- 
pressed.    He  took  part  with  the  Roman  bishop  Cor- 
nelius  against  his  rival  Novatian,  in  order  to  restore 
the  unity  of  the  church.     When  another  bishop  of 
Rome,  Stephen,  undertook  to  impose  the    traditions 
of  Rome  on  other  churches  as  if  they  were  of  univer- 
sal   ol:)ligation,  Cyprian  was  his  most  energetic  and 
determined    opponent.     In    the    persecution    under- 
Valerian  he  was  at  first  exiled  and  then  beheaded  in 
the  year  256.     His  works,  consisting  of  short  treatises, 
called  forth  by  the  exigencies  of  his  times,  and  familiar 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  113 

letters,  have  been  preserved  with  great  care  and  often 
republished.  Of  his  letters  there  are  more  than  eighty, 
and  they  give  a  most  striking  and  truthful  picture  of 
all  that  pertains  to  the  organization  and  discipline,  the 
spirit  and  the  life  of  the  church  at  that  early  period. 
He  had  high  ideas  of  the  episcopal  authority,  and  was 
most  distinguished  as  an  organizer  and  disciplinarian. 

Cyrill^  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century.  At  first  he  was  a  moderate  semi-Arian, 
but  subsequently  adopted  the  Nicene  creed,  and  for 
this  was  by  the  Arian  party  expelled  from  his  see. 
His  writings  that  remain  to  us  consist  of  catechetical 
instructions  for  vouth  and  recent  converts,  w^ith  fraer- 
ments  of  sermons,  etc. 

Cyrill^  bishop  of  Alexandria,  bei:)ngs  to  the  fifth 
century,  and  was  a  leading  man  of  his  time.  He  w^as 
the  chief  opponent  of  Nestorius,  and  summoned 
against  him  the  council  of  Ephesus  in  431.  Besides 
his  controversial  works  against  Nestorius  and  others, 
we  have  from  him  commentaries  on  John's  Gospel,  the 
twelve  minor  prophets,  Isaiah,  and  select  portions  of 
the  Pentateuch. 

Dionysius^  bishop  of  Rome  in  252,  has  left  three  let- 
ters, one  particularly  against  the  Sabellians.  The  works 
published  in  the  name  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite  at 
Athens,  a  convert  of  Paul  the  apostle  (Acts,  xvii)  are 
undoubtedly  spurious  and  belong  to  the  fourth  or  fifth 
century. 

Dionysius^  bishop  of  Corinth  in  170.  Ancient 
writers,  particularly  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  have  fre- 
quent references  to  his  letters,  but  we  have  none  of 
them  entire.     He  was  a  man  of  great  authority  among 


114  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  churches  of  his  day.  He  died  the  death  of  a  mar- 
tyr in  173. 

Dionystus  of  Alexandria,  snrnamed  the  great^  was 
a  scholar  of  Origen,  was  by  him  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity from  paganism,  and  became  bishop  in  247. 
His  official  life  was  a  very  disturbed  one.  In  the  De- 
cian  persecution  he  suffered  a  long  imprisonment,  with 
the  bishop  Nepos  he  had  a  controversy  in  regard 
to  the  millennium  in  which  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
bringing  over  that  bishop  to  his  own  anti-millenarian 
views  ;  he  affirmed  the  validity  of  heretic  baptism,  and 
met  with  severe  opposition  on  this  account ;  he  wrote 
against  Sabellius  and  also  against  Paul  of  Samosata ; 
during  the  Valerian  persecution  he  was  driven  into 
exile;  and  after  a  most  unquiet  life  he  died  in  269. 
Of  his  numerous  writings  we  have  only  fragments 
remaining,  which  have  been  collected  and  published. 

Ephraem  the  Syrian  was  born  at  Nisibis  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, l)ecame  abbot  of  the  cloister  in  Edessa,  and  died 
in  378.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer  in  the  Syrian 
language  ;  his  works  were  highly  esteemed  ;  they  were 
translated  into  Greek  and  read  in  many  churches.  As 
we  have  already  observed,  the  text  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment itself  was  in  one  instance  at  least  obliterated  to 
furnish  parchment  for  a  copy  of  Ephraem's  Sermons ; 
a  symbol  of  what  has  often  happened  in  the  Christian 
church  since  his  time.  His  works  have  been  frequently 
and  very  handsomely  published. 

Epiphanius  was  of  Jewish  origin,  and  born  in  a  vil- 
lage near  Jerusalem  about  the  year  310.  After  his 
conversion  to  Christianity  he  became  a  Monk  in  Pales- 
tine and  was  afterwards  made  bishop  of  Salamis  in 


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THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  115 

the  island  of  Cyprus.  He  was  full  of  zeal  against 
heretics,  and  among  his  other  writings  is  a  ponderous 
work  against  80  heresies.  He  assailed  with  great  energy 
John,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  on  account  of  his  supposed 
attachment  to  the  principles  of  Origen,  and  endeav- 
ored, though  in  vain,  to  enlist  Chrysostom  in  his  cru- 
sade against  Origenism.  He  did  not  begin  to  be  an 
author  till  after  he  was  sixty,  and  pursued  the  calling 
with  characteristic  zeal  and  industry  till  he  was  past 
ninety.  He  died  while  returning  from  a  long  journey 
which  he  had  made  in  his  zeal  against  Origenism.  His 
ivorks  are  hasty,  fiery,  and  full  of  mistakes,  but  valua- 
ble on  account  of  the  many  quotations  which  he  makes 
from  ancient  writings  now  lost.  For  his  time  he  was 
a  remarkable  linguist,  being  acquainted  with  Hebrew, 
Syrian,  Egyptian,  Greek  and  Latin.  His  works  are  to 
this  day  easily  accessible.  He  is  a  remarkable  exam- 
ple of  zeal,  industry  and  sincerity  in  heresy  hunting. 
His  quotations  from  other  authors  are  generally  faith- 
ful and  reliable. 

Eusebius^  surnamed  PampMhis^  from  his  friend  the 
martyr,  was  born  in  Palestine  in  the  year  264  and  died 
in  340.  He  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  early  church 
historians,  and  has  been  perhaps  sufficiently  charac- 
terized in  the  second  chapter  of  this  work.  He  was 
bisliop  of  Caesarea  in  Palestine,  an  amazingly  diligent 
reader  and  writer,  amiable,  unprejudiced  and  candid. 
He  endeavored  to  protect  Arius  against  Alexander  the 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  thus  incurred  for  himself 
the  suspicion  of  Arianism,  though  he  subscribed  the 
Nicene  creed;  and  he  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  Con- 
Btantine  in  regard  to  Athanasius.     He  became  an  Mti 


IIG  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

mate  personal  friend  of  that  celebrated  emperor,  and 
had  a  most  favorable  opinion  of  him,  which  is  not  at 
all  surprising  considering  the  circumstances.  His  nu- 
merous historical  writings  are  still  held  in  great  esteem, 
and  there  is  nothing  that  can  supply  their  place.  Not- 
withstanding all  that  partizan  zeal  has  from  time  to 
time  alleged  against  him,  there  is  no  historian  equally 
voluminous  on  whom  fewer  errors  can  be  proved. 

There  were  other  distinguished  churchmen  of  the 
same  name,  during  that  age,  as  a  bishop  of  Emessa  in 
359,  who  published  homilies,  and  a  bishop  of  Ver" 
colli  in  371. 

Evagrius  Scholasttcus  was  born  at  Epiphania  in  Coel- 
esyria  in  the  year  536,  and  was  a  lawyer  at  Antioch. 
We  have  from  him  an  ecclesiastical  history  in  6  books 
including  the  period  between  the  years  431  and  594; 
a  valuable  work,  though  somewhat  marred  by  the 
credulity  of  the  author  and  his  faith  in  monkish 
legends, 

Firmilianus^  bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia,  was 
a  great  admirer  of  Origen,  and  he  took  an  active  part 
in  all  the  church  questions  of  his  time.  We  have  from 
him  an  able  letter  to  Cyprian,  in  which  he  takes  part 
with  that  prelate  against  the  assumptions  of  Stephen, 
the  bishop  of  Home.  He  is  referred  to  by  Eusebius, 
E.  H,  vi.  26,  29,  46  ;  vii.  5,  29, 

Gregory^  surnamed  Tliaumaturgus  or  Wonder  Worker^ 
on  account  of  the  wonderful  works  which  he  is  said  to 
liave  wrought,  was  born  of  wealthy  and  respectable 
heathen  parents  at  New  Caesarea  in  Pontus  about  the 
year  210,  In  231  he  was  on  his  way  to  Berytus  in- 
licnding  to  study  law  at  the  famous  school  in  that 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  117 

place  ;  but  meeting  with  Origen  he  was  converted  to 
Christianity,  and  the  whole  purpose  of  his  life  was 
changed.  He  studied  with  Origen  eight  years.  He 
was  made  bishop  of  his  native  city  about  the  year  243 
or  4.  At  that  time  there  were  said  to  be  only  sev- 
enteen Christians  in  the  whole  city  ;  but  such  wa^: 
the  energy  and  success  of  his  labors  there,  that  when 
he  died  in  270,  there  were  scarcely  so  many  pagans 
left  in  the  place,  though  a  very  populous  one.  In  the 
Decian  persecution  he  was  obliged  to  flee.  Afterwards 
he  took  part  against  Paul  of  Samosata  in  269  at  the 
Council  of  Antioch,  He  was  a  dili2:ent  student  of 
Scripture,  and  a  most  laborious  and  faithful  pastor. 
His  fame  filled  the  North  and  the  East,  and  even  the 
pagans  called  him  the  second  Moses. 

Gregory  of  Nazianzen^  was  born  in  the  year  300  at 
Nazianzen  in  Cappadocia,  where  his  father  was  bishop. 
He  was  the  confidential  friend  of  Basil  the  great,  was 
sometime  bishop  of  Constantinople,  but  finally  retired 
to  private  life  and  died  in  391.  When  Julian  the 
apostate  prohibited  the  Christians  the  use  of  the  Glreek 
and  Koman  classics,  Gregory  and  some  others  endeav- 
ored to  fill  the  gap  by  writings  of  their  own.  In  the 
Arian  controversy  he  kept  the  congregations  at  Con- 
stantinople warmly  engaged  against  the  heretics.  On 
account  of  his  great  attainments  in  divinity  he  was 
surnamed  the  Theologian.  He  published  discourses, 
of  which  there  are  two  against  Julian  written  with 
great  severity;  we  have  of  his  nearly  250  letters  ;  and 
more  than  150  poetical  pieces  in  difi^erent  kinds  of  verse. 
His  works  were  highly  esteemed,  carefully  preserved, 
and  are  -still  accessible  in  good  editions. 


118  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Gregory  of  Nyssa^  brother  of  Basil  the  great,  was 
born  at  Pontus  in  Macedonia,  was  at  first  a  rhetorician, 
then  a  monk,  and  finally  bishop  of  Nyssa.  He  was 
exiled  from  his  see  for  eight  years  by  the  Arians,  and 
attended  both  the  councils  of  Constantinople  in  381 
and  394.  He  was  highly  celebrated  for  his  eloquence 
as  a  preacher.  The  time  of  his  death  is  uncertain. 
His  writings,  treatises,  orations,  poems,  etc.,  are  well 
preserved. 

Hegesiijpus  was  a  Jew  by  birth  and  a  member  of  the 
Christian  congregation  at  Jerusalem.  He  composed 
at  Rome,  about  the  year  176,  a  historical  work  under 
the  title  of  Memoirs,  which  described,  in  5  books,  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  church  of  Christ  from  its  origin  to 
his  own  time.  Nothing  remains  of  this  work  but  the 
fragments  preserved  by  Eusebius.  He  died  in  180.  A 
history  of  the  Jewish  war  and  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, which  are  ascribed  to  him,  are  not  his.  Euse- 
bius, E.  H.  iii.  19,  20,  32;  iv.  8,  22. 

Heracleon^  of  whom  but  little  is  known,  was  a  disci- 
ple of  Valentine,  about  the  year  126.  He  wrote 
largely  on  the  New  Testament  books,  but  though  we 
have  none  of  his  works  entire,  yet  copious  extracts  are 
made  from  them  by  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Ori- 
gen.  Being  a  Gnostic,  and  of  that  very  early  period, 
his  testimony  is  particularly  valuable. 

Heraclitus^  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  century, 
is  mentioned  by  Jerome  and  Eusebius  as  an  able  com- 
mentator on  the  E])istles  of  Paul. 

Hennas.  Under  this  name  there  was  in  the  most 
ancient  church,  and  held  in  the  highest  esteem,  a  book 
entitled  the  Pastor  or  Shepherd.     The  ancients  sup- 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  119 

posed  the  author  to  be  the  Hermas  mentioned  by  Paul 
in  Rom.  xvi.  14.  Others  would  ascribe  it  to  Hermas, 
a  brother  of  Pius,  bishop  of  Rome,  about  the  year  156. 
But  the  great  authority  of  the  book  as  early  as  the 
time  of  Irenaeus  (from  140  to  200)  would  certainly 
indicate  the  correctness  of  the  first  opinion  rather  than 
the  second.  In  the  work,  which  consists  of  three 
books,  an  angel  in  the  guise  of  a  shepherd  gives  in- 
structions to  Hermas  on  the  various  duties  of  the  Chris- 
tian life,  in  the  form  of  visions,  commands  and  simili- 
tudes. It  was  for  many  ages  extant  in  a  Latin  trans- 
lation only,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  sentences; 
but  in  the  famous  Sinai,  manuscript  discovered  by 
Tischendorf  we  have  the  original  Greek  of  a  consider- 
able portion  of  it.  It  is  a  most  precious  relic  of  the 
very  highest  Christian  antiquity. 

Hermias^  who  lived  towards  the  close  of  the  second 
century,  while  paganism  was  still  in  the  ascendant  and 
all  powerful,  wrote  a  sharp  polemic  work  in  opposi- 
tion to  it,  entitled  Irrisio  Gentilium  Fliiloso'plioTwm^ 
Ridicule  of  the  Gentile  Philosophers,  which  is  in- 
teresting as  a  specimen  of  the  very  earliest  Christian 
polemics.     It  is  still  accessible  in  good  editions. 

Hieronymus  (^Soplironius  Eusehius)  was  born  in  the 
year  330  at  Strido  in  Dalmatia.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  learned  of  all  the  church  fathers,  particularly  in 
everything  pertaining  to  the  literature  of  the  Bible. 
In  English  we  generally  write  his  name  Jerome.  He 
received  at  Ptome  his  first  instruction  in  the  sciences, 
traveled  extensively,  and  finally  withdrew  to  a  solitude 
near  Bethlehem  in  Palestine,  where  he  spent  his  life  in 
the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  composition  of 


120  THE     BOOKS     or     THE     BIBLE. 

various  learned  T\'orks  in  tlie  several  departments  of 
Christian  literature.  He  employed  a  Jew  to  teach 
him  Hebrew,  and  was  a  most  diligent  and  faithful  stu- 
dent. His  greatest  work  was  the  revising  of  the  com- 
mon Latin  translation  of  the  Bible  called  the  Vulgate, 
and  writing  for  the  several  books  of  Scripture  erudite 
prefaces  containing  all  that  could  be  ascertained  re- 
specting the  authors,  times  and  occasions  of  writing, 
etc.  Even  the  most  laborious  investigations  of  mod- 
ern times  have  in  many  instances  scarcely  advanced 
beyond  the  results  of  Jerome.  Of  most  of  the  sacred 
books  he  made  new  translations  very  much  superior  to 
any  that  had  preceded.  His  writings  are  among  the 
richest  of  the  ancient  sources  of  critical  investigation, 
there  are  passages  in  them  of  surpassing  eloquence,  he 
was  altogether  sincere  and  earnest;  but  he  always 
wrote  hastily,  and  was  often  passionate  and  prejudiced. 
He  had  several  fierce  controversies  with  Rufinus,  Au- 
gustin  and  others  ;  and  when  excited,  as  he  always  was 
almost  in  controversy,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  call  his 
opponents  by  the  roughest  kind  of  names.  His  wri- 
tings were  numerous,  mainly  on  exegetical  and  his- 
torical subjects ;  they  have  been  carefully  preserved, 
and  are  accessible  in  many  good  editions.  He  died  in 
420  at  the  age  of  90. 

Hilary^  called  by  many  the  Western  Atlicinasms^ 
was  born  in  Poitiers  in  Aquitania,  educated  in  pagan- 
ism ;  but  converted  to  Christianity  by  the  reading  of 
the  Bible,  he  became  bishop  of  his  native  city  in  355. 
For  his  opposition  to  Arianism  he  was  banished  to 
Phrygia ;  but  after  his  return,  he  sought  with  redoubled 
zeal  to  purify  France  from  this  heresy.     He  died  in 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  121 

368.  He  wrote  on  the  trinity,  commentaries,  hymns, 
etc.  His  works  are  preserved  with  a  good  degree  of 
completeness,  and  have  often  been  published  in  hand- 
some and  readable  editions. 

Hippolytus  (Eusebius,  H.  E.  vi.  20,  22)  belongs  to 
the  close  of  the  second  century,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  active  and  influential  churchmen  of  his  day.  He 
was  a  scholar  of  Irenaeus  and  a  friend  of  Origen.  He 
was  bishop  of  Ostia  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  and 
died  a  martyr's  death.  His  writings  consist  of  com- 
mentaries on  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  sermons, 
dogmatic  and  polemic  treatises,  historical  disquisitions, 
etc.  His  personal  history  was  very  little  known  even  to 
Eusebius  and  others  of  the  earliest  writers.  But  it  has 
been  gradually  coming  to  light  even  in  modern  times. 
In  1551  a  statue  of  him  with  an  inscription  giving 
some  account  of  him  and  his  writings  was  disinterred 
near  Rome  ;  in  1661  a  polemic  work  of  his  w^as  dis- 
covered ;  and  in  1842,  there  were  found  in  Greece 
seven  books,  that  is  from  the  4th  to  the  10th,  of  his 
great  work  on  all  the  heresies,  of  which  only  the  first 
book  had  before  been  known.  This  discovery  pro- 
duced a  wide-spread  excitement  in  the  learned  world, 
and  gave  rise  to  numerous  publications  illustrating, 
from  Hippolytus,  the  doctrines,  rites  and  ethics  of  the 
ancient  church. 

Ignatius^  surnamed  Tlieophorus,  was  a  pupil  of  the 
apostle  John,  and  by  him  ordained  bishop  of  Antioch, 
which  office  he  held  forty  years.  He  lived  through 
the  persecution  of  Domitian,  but  in  the  reign  of  Tra- 
jan he  was  condemned  to  death,  and  after  a  most  re- 
markable conversation  with  the  emperor,  an  account 


122  THE     BOOKS     ^F     THE     ByBLE. 

of  wliicli  is  still  extant;  he  was  taken  to  Rome  and 
there  suffered  martyrdom  by  being  thrown  to  wild 
beasts  about  the  year  109  (Eusebius,  E.  II.  iii.  36). 
An  account  of  his  martyrdom,  written  by  the  friends 
who  attended  him  on  his  journey,  is  still  preserved. 
While  at  Smyrna,  and  at  Troas,  on  his  way  to  Rome, 
he  wrote  letters  to  several  of  the  Christian  churches, 
and  one  to  his  friend  Polycarp.  These  seven  epistles 
have  been  known  and  read  in  the  Christian  churches 
from  the  very  earliest  period.  There  is  an  edition  of 
them  of  about  the  sixth  century,  which  undoubtedly 
contains  many  interpolations ;  but  the  earlier  and 
briefer  recensions,  of  which  archbishop  Usher  had  a 
Latin  translation  and  I.  Voss,  the  Greek  original,  may 
safely  be  received  as  genuine  throughout.  Besides 
these  seven  there  are  others  ascribed  to  Ignatius  which 
may  be  rejected  as  spurious.  The  genuine  epistles  of 
Ignatius  are  among  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
relics  of  Christian  antiquity ;  they  have  often  been  pub- 
lished and  are  easily  accessible. 

Ireyiaeus  was  born  at  Smyrna  probably  about  the 
year  120.  He  studied  with  Polycarp  and  Papias.  He 
was  a  missionary  to  the  pagans  in  France  under  Pothi- 
nus,  from  whom  he  received  ordination  ;  and  after  the 
death  of  his  master  by  martyrdom,  he  succeeded  him 
as  bishop  of  Lyons  in  the  year  178.  He  was  a  faithful 
pastor  of  his  flock,  had  great  influence  throughout  the 
Christian  world,  and  successfully  withstood  Victor, 
])ishop  of  Rome,  in  his  endeavors  to  impose  the  Ro- 
mish Easter  on  other  churches.  He  suffered  martyr- 
dom under  Septimius  Sevcrus  in  the  year  202.  Euse- 
bius, E.  H.  V.  15,  20,  24,  26.      He  was  probably  the 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  123 

author  of  the  letter,  still  extant,  which  gives  so  graphic 
and  terrible  a  description  of  the  persecutions  suffered  by 
the  churches  of  Vienne  and  Lyons  in  France  in  the  year 
177.  His  great  work  is  his  five  books  against  heresies, 
which  is  still  extant,  partly  in  the  original  Greek,  but 
mostly  in  a  very  ancient  and  rather  barbarous  Latin 
translation.  The  work  contains  a  great  amount  of  in- 
formation as  to  the  origin,  doctrines  and  character  of 
the  ancient  heretics ;  as  well  as  of  the  theological  tenets 
of  the  orthodox  churches  of  that  age,  and  the  most 
approved  mode  of  stating  and  defending  them.  The 
book  is  a  very  common  one. 

Isidorus^  the  son  of  the  Gnostic  Basilides,  wrote 
works  both  of  an  exegetical  and  ethical  character,  of 
which  fragments  are  preserved  by  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria and  Epiphanius. 

IsidoriLS  of  Alexandria,  surnamed  Pelusiota^  a  monk 
of  Pelusium,  was  distinguished  for  his  abstemious  and 
severe  life.  He  belongs  to  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth 
century,  and  has  left  over  two  thousand  letters  arranged 
in  five  books. 

Jerome^  see  Hieronymus. 

Jornandes  or  Jordanes,  a  Goth,  was  before  his  conver- 
sion a  notary,  then  a  monk,  and  finally  a  bishop  about  the 
year  550.  His  works  are  historical,  and  contain  im- 
portant testimonies. 

Joseiohus  (^Flavius)^  the  great  historian  of  the  Jews, 
born  at  Jerusalem  in  the  year  37,  son  of  a  priest,  and 
of  the  sept  of  the  Pharisees.  In  the  Roman  war  he 
held  with  great  distinction  the  Jewish  military  com- 
mand in  Galilee  ;  but  being  defeated  and  made  a  pris- 
oner by  Vespasian,  he  became  an  intimate  firiend  of 


124  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  emperor  and  his  son,  and  was  employed  by  Titus 
as  a  negotiator  with  the  Jews  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 
His  last  years  were  spent  at  Rome.  His  works  are 
well  known.  His  testimonies  to  Christ  and  the  early 
history  of  Christianity  have  by  some  been  rejected  as 
spurious,  but  without  sufficient  reason. 

Julius  Africanus  (Eusebius,  E.  H.  i.  7;  vi.  31)  was 
by  birth  a  Lybian,  and  dwelt  at  Emmaus  in  Palestine, 
and  he  is  by  some  called  bishop  of  Emmaus,  which  is 
the  same  as  Nicopolis.  When  the  city  was  destroyed 
by  fire  about  the  year  220,  Julius  was  sent  on  an  em- 
bassy to  the  emperor  Heliogobalus  to  have  it  rebuilt. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  learning  and  influence,  and  has 
left  some  important  writings,  though  now  mostly  in 
fragments.  His  letter  to  Aristides  on  the  genealogies 
in  Matthew  and  Luke,  and  a  letter  to  Origen  on  the 
genuineness  of  the  story  of  Susanna  in  the  Greek 
Daniel,  we  have  entire ;  but  of  his  great  historical 
summary  from  the  creation  to  A.  D.  221,  and  an  elab- 
orate treatise  on  natural  science  and  medicine,  only 
fragments  remain. 

Justin  (JFlavius^  the  Martyr^  was  born  at  Neapolis, 
the  ancient  Shechem,  in  the  beginning  of  the  2d  cen- 
tury. From  his  early  youth  he  had  an  intense  longing 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  divine  things.  He  gave  him- 
self to  the  study  of  philosophy,  and  attended  the  instruc- 
tions of  a  Stoic,  a  Peripatetic,  and  Pythagorean,  but  with- 
out obtaining  satisfaction.  With  a  Platonist  he  succeeded 
better  ;  but  once  as  he  was  taking  a  solitary  walk,  ab- 
sorbed in  meditation,  he  was  met  by  a  venerable  old 
man  who  referred  him  to  the  writings  of  the  prophets 
and  apostles  and  the  instructions  of  Christ.     A  dili- 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  125 

gent  study  of  the  Bible,  and  a  witnessing  of  the  stead- 
fastness of  the  Christians  under  the  most  severe  perse- 
cutions, brought  him  over  to  Christianity.  He  thence- 
forward devoted  himself  to  a  defence  of  the  Christian 
faith,  and  especially  to  a  vindication  of  it  to  the  men 
of  learning  among  the  pagans.  For  this  purpose  he 
always  retained  the  philosopher's  mantle,  and  went  to 
Rome  and  founded  a  school  there.  Through  the 
malice  of  a  certain  Cynic  by  the  name  of  Crescens  he 
suffered  a  martyr's  death  at  Rome  in  the  year  167. 
Justin  is  the  first  of  the  church  fathers,  whose  writings 
have  come  down  to  us,  that  brings  Christianity  into 
connection  with  philosophy ;  and  he  was  followed  as  a 
model  by  subsequent  defenders  of  the  fliith.  His 
larger  apology  was  addressed  to  the  emperor  Anto- 
ninus Pius  about  the  year  139,  and  the  smaller  to  Mar- 
cus Aurelius  in  163  or  thereabouts.  In  both  these 
works  the  argument  is  addressed  mainly  to  the  pagans. 
For  the  Jews  he  wrote  a  dialogue  which  he  professes 
to  have  held  with  Trypho,  a  Jew,  while  walking  in 
the  gymnasium  or  Xystiis  at  Ephesus.  As  to  the  gen- 
uineness of  these  works  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt. 

There  is  a  very  ancient  letter  to  Diognetus,  giving 
an  account,  minute  and  interesting,  of  the  opinions 
and  practices  of  the  Christians  of  the  earlier  period, 
that  has  sometimes  been  ascribed  to  Justin  the  Martyr, 
but  without  sufficient  grounds.  It  is  a  genuine  and 
most  valuable  relic  of  the  earliest  Christian  age,  and 
its  statements  are  authentic  and  of  the  deepest  interest, 
but  the  author  is  unknown. 

Lactantius  (^Caecilius Firmianus).  an  Italian  or  Afri- 


126  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

can,  a  pupil  of  Arnobius  in  eloquence ;  but  he  so  far 
surpassed  his  teacher  that  he  gained  for  himself  the 
title  of  the  Christian  Cicero.  He  devoted  himself  to 
the  instruction  of  youth,  and  was  appointed  by  Con- 
stantine  the  Great  the  tutor  of  his  son  Crispus  in  the 
year  317.  He  died  about  325.  His  principal  work 
is  his  Institutes  in  seven  books.  His  works  have  been 
highly  esteemed,  and  frequently  and  handsomely  pub- 
lished. The  language,  generally,  is  more  noticeable 
than  the  thought. 

Lucian^  of  Samosata  in  Syria,  an  Epicurean  philoso- 
pher and  distinguished  orator  of  the  second  half  of 
the  second  century.  He  traveled  extensively  and 
learned  much  of  the  follies  of  mankind.  In  his  dia- 
logues, which  have  had  a  great  run,  he  ridiculed  with 
much  sharpness  and  wit  the  sacred  things  of  the  pa- 
gans, and  did  not  spare  the  Christians.  Much  can  be 
learned  from  this  merciless  satirist,  whose  works  are 
too  congenial  to  the  ill  nature  of  mankind  ever  to  be 
lost  or  become  obsolete. 

Manes  or  Man%  the  founder  of  the  Manichaeans, 
was  born  in  the  early  part  of  the  third  century.  He 
was  a  Persian,  educated  among  the  Magi,  and  on  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  Christian  books,  combined 
the  Christian  doctrines  with  the  Magian,  gave  himself 
out  for  the  Paraclete  or  Comforter  promised  by  Christ, 
and  founded  a  new  system  of  religion,  which  embraced 
some  of  the  ideas  of  Christ,  but  was  characterized  by 
the  old  Zoroastrian  dogma  of  dualism,  or  two  original 
principles  of  light  and  darkness,  of  good  and  evil,  in 
perpetual  and  everlasting  conflict.  Being  an  artist  as 
well  as  a  philosopher  he  composed  a  work  illustrative 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  127 

of  his  system,  which  he  adorned  with  splendid  pic- 
tures, and  it  was  called  by  the  Persians  Ertenki-Man% 
or  the  Gospel  of  Manes.  He  traveled  extensively, 
wrote  other  works,  and  had  numerous  followers.  Hor- 
misdas,  king  of  Persia,  was  among  his  converts.  But 
the  next  king,  Varanes  I.  put  him  to  a  most  cruel  death 
as  a  perverter  of  religion  in  the  year  277  ;  but  for  many 
generations  afterwards  his  followers  were  numerous  and 
influential,  among  whom  was  the  great  Augustin  in 
the  early  part  of  his  life.  Extracts  from  the  writings 
of  this  most  remarkable  and  erratic  genras  are  pre- 
served by  Epiphanius. 

Marcion  was  born  at  Sinope,  where  his  father  was 
bishop,  early  in  the  second  century.  He  visited  Rome 
and  was  there  acquainted  with  Justin  Martyr  and  Val- 
entinus  the  Gnostic.  He  became  the  founder  of  an 
anti- Jewish  Gnostic  sect,  which  as  late  as  the  fourth 
century  had  its  own  churches  and  bishops.  He  rejected 
the  Old  Testament  and  compiled,  mainly  from  Luke, 
a  gospel  of  his  own,  which  is  still  extant.  He  received 
as  divinely  inspired  ten  of  the  epistles  of  Paul,  and  is 
a  good  witness  for  all  the  New  Testament  books  as 
they  were  received  by  the  Orthodox  churches  of  his 
time.  He  regarded  Matthew,  Mark  and  John  as  Juda- 
izers,  who  failed  to  comprehend  the  doctrine  of  the 
good  God  as  expounded  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  but 
recognized  as  genuine  the  Gospels  ascribed  to  them. 
He  was  himself  a  believer  in  the  dualism  of  the  Per- 
sians, as  was  Manes  also  a  century  afterward.  Consid^ 
ering  the  history  and  condition  of  the  world  from  the 
beginning  to  the  present  time,  it  is  rather  surprising 
that  this  solution  of  the  great  problem  of  the  existence 


128  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  moral  and  physical  evil,  has  not  been  more  popular 
among  theologians  of  modern  times.  It  held  great 
sway  over  the  minds  of  many  of  the  profoundest 
thinkers  of  the  old  Oriental  world,  and  was  exten- 
sively received  for  many  ages  after  Christ. 

Marcus^  a  native  of  Palestine  and  a  disciple  of  Yal- 
entinus,  belongs  to  the  second  half  of  the  second  cen- 
tury. He  set  forth  his  Gnostic  doctrines  in  a  poem,  a 
liturgy,  and  symbols.  Irenaeus,  in  his  first  book  against 
heretics,  gives  an  account  of  him  and  his  writings, 
from  which  it  appears  that  he  is  a  good  witness  for  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  especially  for  the  first 
three  Gospels. 

Maximus,  a  writer  against  the  Gnostics,  was  cotempo- 
rary  with  Marcus  above  mentioned,  and  probably  the 
bishop  of  Jerusalem.  He  is  mentioned  by  Eusebius, 
E.  H.  V.  27,  and  quoted  by  him  in  his  other  woi'ks  as 
a  witness  to  the  four  Gospels.  John  and  Matthew, 
Mark  and  Luke,  four  evangelists  (he  says)  but  one 
Gospel. 

Melito^  bishop  of  Sardis,  about  160,  was  one  of  the 
most  active  and  influential  of  the  church  fathers  of  his 
time.  A  good  account  of  him  and  his  writings  is 
given  by  Eusebius,  E.  H.  iv.  2G.  He  traveled  to  Pal- 
estine for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  exactly  the  He- 
brew canon  of  Scripture,  and  to  him  we  are  indebted 
for  the  earliest  Christian  catalogue  of  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

Metliodius^  bishop  of  Tyre  in  Phoenicia,  or  Patara 
in  Lycia,  probably  was  martyred  in  the  DiDclctian 
persecution  about  the  year  311.  Several  of  his  wri- 
tings are  preserved;  and  we  have  extracts  in  Epi])ha 


THE     ONL     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  129 

nius  and  Photius  and  John  of  Damascus.     He  was  a 
zealous  opponent  of  Origen. 

Miiiucius  Felix^  a  lawyer  and  advocate  at  Rome, 
probably  of  African  origin,  and  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity about  225.  His  writings  are  important  as  wit- 
nessing to  our  sacred  books,  and  have  been  often  pub- 
lished. 

Montanus^  a  native  of  Mysia  on  the  borders  of  Phry- 
gia,  in  the  second  half  of  the  second  century,  was  the 
founder  of  the  sect  of  Montanists,  in  connection  with 
the  two  female  preachers  Priscilla  and  Maximilla.  He 
was  a  Millenarian  of  the  most  advanced  type,  and  ex- 
ceedingly severe  and  ascetic  in  his  rules  of  life.  Epiph- 
anius  gives  us  extracts  from  his  writings. 

Nepos  was  bishop  of  Arsinoe  in  Egypt  about  the 
year  244.  He  at  first  wrote  in  defence  of  the  most 
literal  conception  of  the  millennium,  but  being  con- 
vinced of  his  error  by  Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alexan- 
dria, he  frankly  and  fully  retracted.  Besides  his  works 
on  the  millennium  he  was  the  author  of  psalms  and 
hymns  for  the  use  of  the  churches. 

Nilns^  a  praefect  in  Constantinople,  was  afterwards 
with  his  son  Theodulus  a  monk  on  Mount  Sinai,  where 
he  died  in  the  year  450.  He  gave  a  narrative  of  the 
slaughter  of  the  monks  on  Mount  SiHai  and  the  cap- 
tivity of  Theodulus,  and  wrote  treatises  of  general 
interest. 

Oecumenms,  was  a  Greek  writer,  who  compiled  com- 
mentaries on  the  greater  part  of  the  New  Testament, 
collected  out  of  the  writings  of  the  ancients,  and  there- 
fore valuable  to  us.  He  probably  lived  in  the  tenth 
century ;  and  we  still  have  quite  complete  his  works  on 
the  Acts  and  the  Epistles. 
9 


130  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Origen^  surnamed  Adamantius,  son  of  Leonides  the 
martyr,  was  born  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt  in  the  year 
135.  He  was  educated  at  the  catechetic  school  in  his 
native  city,  under  Clement,  and  received  instruction 
also  from  the  philosopher  Ammonius  Saccus.  After 
the  death  of  his  father  he  supported  his  mother  and 
her  family  by  teaching;  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
became  master  of  the  celebrated  Alexandrian  cate- 
chetic school  in  which  he  had  himself  been  instructed. 
At  this  time,  from  misunderstanding  the  passage  in 
Matthew  xix.  12,  he  did  violence  to  his  own  person. 
Subsequently  he  made  a  journey  to  Eome  ;  in  his  twen- 
ty-fifth year  he  made  himself  master  of  the  Hebrew 
language,  and  was  sent  to  Arabia  to  instruct  an  emir 
in  the  Christian  faith.  After  his  return,  the  rage  of 
Caracalla  against  the  Alexandrians  compelled  him  to 
flee  to  Palestine,  and  he  publicly  expounded  the  Scrip- 
tures in  Caesarea.  Recalled  by  Demetrius,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  he  in  Antioch  became  the  teacher  of  Mam- 
maea,  the  mother  of  Alexander  Severus ;  again  he  spent 
a  few  years  in  Alexandria  ;  on  a  journey  to  Greece  was 
ordained  presbyter ;  on  which  account  his  bishop  De- 
metrius was  enraged  against  him,  accused  him  of  heret- 
ical opinions,  and  summoned  church  councils  which 
condemned  and  banished  hnn.  Origen  then  opened 
a  school  at  Caesarea ;  in  the  Severian  persecution  he 
fled  to  Cappadocia  ;  and  when  quiet  was  again  restored, 
he  visited  Athens,  Palestine  and  Bostra,  where  he  found 
Beryll  and  converted  him  from  his  errors.  In  the  De- 
cian  persecution  he  was  imprisoned  and  put  to  the  tor- 
ture, an-d  soon  after  h'is  release  he  died  at  Tyre  in  the 
yeai  254  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.     Origen  was  one 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  131 

of  the  most  wonderful  men  that  any  age  or  country- 
has  ever  produced.  Sincere,  earnest,  indefatigable, 
prolific,  his  numerous  writings  are  among  the  richest 
treasures  which  Christian  antiquity  has  left  to  us ;  and 
no  witness  to  the  sacred  books  is  more  trustworthy, 
copious,  and  important  than  he. 

Pamphilus^  a  presbyter,  was  born  at  Berytus  (Bei- 
rut) in  Phoenecia,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the- 
ology, and  made  his  home  at  Caesarea  in  Palestine  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  third  century.  Here  he  employed 
his  large  fortune  in  the  collecting  of  a  Christian  library, 
and  copied  many  books,  which  it  was  impossible  other- 
wise to  procure,  with  his  own  hand,  as  for  example  the 
voluminous  writings  of  Origen.  This  library  was  of 
invaluable  benefit  to  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  and  other 
Christian  writers.  He  also  founded  a  Christian  school 
in  the  same  city,  of  which  he  was  himself  the  teacher. 
Under  the  emperor  Maximin,  in  the  year  307,  he  was 
thrown  into  prison,  and  two  years  after  put  to  death. 
His  life  was  written  by  Eusebius.  He  published  an 
edition  of  the  Septuagint  according  to  the  revision  of 
Origen,  which  was  much  used  in  Palestine  and  Syria, 
and  an  apology  for  Origen  in  six  books,  in  conjunction 
with  Eusebius.  The  Euthalian  sections  or  chapters  in 
the  book  of  Acts  are  probably  from  him. 

Pantaenus  of  Sicily,  of  the  second  century,  was  at 
first  a  Stoic,  and  was  converted  to  Christianity  by  a 
disciple  of  the  apostles.  He  became  master  of  the 
catechetic  school  at  Alexandria,  where  he  acquired 
a  great  reputation,  and  had  some  very  distinguished 
scholars,  as  for  example  the  Alexandrian  Clement.  He 
had  been  for  a  considerable  time  before  this  a  preacher 


132  THE     BOOKS    OF    THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  Gospel  in  India,  and  died  at  Alexandria  in  the 
year  212.  He  was  the  author  of  commentaries  on  the 
Scripture.  He  found  in  India  certain  Jewish  Chris- 
tians who  had  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  in  Hebrew, 
which  had  been  left  them  by  their  teacher,  the  apostle 
Bartholomew.     See  Eusebius,  E.  H.  v.  10. 

Papias^  bishop  of  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia  about  the 
year  100,  according  to  Irenaeus  and  other  ancients,  a 
student  of  both  the  apostle  John  and  of  Polycarp,  was  a 
zealous  millenarian,  learning  his  doctrine,  as  he  says, 
from  the  apostle  John  himself.  Eusebius,  E.  H.  iii.  39. 
He  wrote  five  books  containing  traditional  accounts  of 
Christ,  the  apostles,  and  others  of  the  primitive  times. 
Fragments  only  of  his  works  remain.  Though  a  man 
of  moderate  intellectual  capacity,  he  was  evidently 
entirely  honest  and  sincere,  and  a  good  witnefes  in 
regard  to  the  sacred  books  of  his  time. 

Pliilastrius^  a  native  of  Spain  or  Italy,  at  first  a 
presbyter,  in  which  capacity  he  traveled  through  the 
whole  Roman  empire,  laboring  for  the  conversion  of 
heretics  and  pagans,  and  finally  became  bishop  of 
Brescia  in  the  time  of  Ambrose.  He  died  in  389. 
He  was  a  zealous  defender  of  the  Nicene  creed,  and 
wrote  a  book  concerning  heretics,  which  is  still  extant, 
in  character  much  like  that  of  Epiphanius,  already 
noticed. 

Phottus  was  at  first  chief  secretary  to  the  emperor 
at  Constantinople,  and  then,  in  the  year  850,  was  raised 
by  Bardas,  the  uncle  of  the  emperor  Michael  I.,  to  the 
metropolitan  see  of  Constantinople,  in  which  office  he 
made  open  schism  with  the  church  of  Rome.  He  was 
twice  deposed  and  as  often  reinstated.     He  died  in 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  133 

891.  He  was  the  most  learned  of  the  Greek  ecclesias- 
tics of  his  time,  and  his  writings  numerous  and  valua- 
ble are  still  preserved.  Especially  worthy  of  notice 
is  his  Mvqi^i^Xiov  or  Bibliotheca,  containing  extracts  from 
280  ancient  works  read  by  him,  most  of  which  are 
now  lost.  It  is  quite  common  with  a  certain  class  of 
Protestant  writers  to  date  the  papal  anti-Christ  from 
the  schism  with  Photius. 

Polycarp^  a  disciple  of  St.  John,  and  by  him  or- 
dained bishop  of  Smyrna.  Of  his  family  and  native 
country  nothing  is  known.  He  held  his  office  for  a  long 
period,  living  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  Ignatius, 
bishop  of  Antioch,  visited  on  business  of  the  church 
the  bishop  Anicetus  at  Rome,  where  he  gave  a 
sharp  reproof  to  Marcion.  He  took  Irenaeus  under 
his  instruction;  and  in  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aure- 
lius  was  condemned  to  death,  between  the  years 
164  and  168.  The  church  at  Smyrna  gave  a  most 
affecting  account  of  his  death  and  his  beautiful  confes- 
sion at  the  stake  in  a  letter  to  the  churches  of  Pontus, 
which  is  preserved  by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  iv.  15),  and 
has  been  published  in  full  by  archbishop  Usher.  He 
wrote  a  letter  Co  the  Philippians,  which  is  for  the  most 
part  still  extant.  Some  answers  to  Biblical  questions  are 
ascribed  to  him,  in  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  which 
serious  doubts  have  been  raised. 

Poly  crates^  bishop  of  Ephesus  about  the  year  196', 
wrote  a  synodical  letter  in  the  name  of  the  bishop  of 
his  province  to  Victor  of  Rome,  in  which  he  resisted 
the  assumptions  of  the  Roman  bishop,  and  affirmed 
that  Easter  ought  to  be  celebrated  on  the  14th  day  of 
the  month  Nisan.     Fragments  of  this  letter  are  pre- 


134  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

served  by  Eusebius,  E.  H.  iii.  31,  v.  24,  wbicli  gave 
important  testimony  to  the  Gospels, 

Polycarp,  the  celebrated  philosopher  of  the  new 
Pliitonic  school,  was  born  at  Batanea  in  Syria,  in  the 
year  233.  He  was  at  first,  it  is  said,  a  Christian,  but 
afterwards  apostatized  and  wrote  an  elaborate  work  in 
fifteen  books  against  Christianity.  The  book  itself  is 
now  lost,  but  copious  extracts  from  it  are  given  by 
Eusebius  and  Jerome.  He  quotes  in  these  fragments, 
from  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John,  also  from  the  Acts  or 
the  Galatians.  He  assails  the  contents  of  the  New 
Testament  books,  but  never  their  genuineness.  See 
Eusebius,  E.  H.  vi.  19. 

Ptolomy  was  a  Gnostic,  a  disciple  of  Valentinus, 
about  the  year  150,  of  whom  we  have  several  frag- 
ments preserved  by  Epiphanius,  giving  important  tes- 
timony to  the  New  Testament  books. 

Rufinus  Tyrannius^  from  Concordia  in  Italy,  was  a 
fellow  student  with  Jerome  in  the  monastery  at  Aqui- 
leia,  where  he  was  baptized.  He  lived  for  a  long  time 
in  the  East,  principally  in  Egypt,  and  was  a  presbyter 
in  the  church  at  Jerusalem.  He  was  an  admirer  of 
Origen,  and  on  this  account  had  a  quarrel  with  Jerome, 
which,  after  a  brief  reconciliation,  broke  out  anew 
after  Rufinus  had  returned  to  Rome  and  translated 
some  of  the  writings  of  Origen,  and  became  exces- 
sively bitter.  When  Rome  was  conquered  by  Alaric 
the  Goth,  he  fled  to  Messina,  where  he  died  in  the  year 
410.  Besides  his  translations  from  Origen,  he  gave  a 
Latin  translation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Euse- 
bius and  a  continuation  of  it,  translations  from  several 
of  the  Greek  fathers,  apologies  for  Origen,  and  other 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  135 

original  works.  His  trcanslations  are  very  free  and  not 
altogether  trustworthy,  but  his  writings  are  valuable 
as  testimonies. 

Serapion  was  the  successor  of  Theophilus  in  the 
bishopric  of  Antioch  in  the  year  190.  By  an  extract 
from  one  of  his  letters  preserved  by  Eusebius  (E.  H. 
VL  12),  we  see  how  careful  the  primitive  churches 
were  in  respect  to  receiving  books  which  claimed  to 
be  of  apostolic  origin,  and  how  watchful  they  were  to 
preserve  the  purity  of  the  New  Testament  canon. 

Socrates^  a  lawyer  of  Constantinople,  was  born  in 
the  year  380.  He  wrote  in  seven  books  an  ecclesias- 
tical history  from  the  time  of  Constantine  to  the  year 
439.  It  is  the  best  of  the  historical  writings  of  that 
period.  He  and  also  Sozomen  bore  the  surname  of 
ScJiolasticus^  an  honorary  title  indicating  the  esteem  in 
which  they  were  held. 

Sozoynen  Salamanes  Hermias^  was  also  a  lawyer  of 
Constantinople,  and  was  living  in  the  year  446.  He 
also  wrote  in  nine  books  a  church  history  from  324  to 
439 ;  a  more  vivacious  work  than  that  of  Socrates, 
but  hardly  so  reliable. 

Tatian  was  by  birth  a  Syrian,  but  well  instructed  in 
the  sciences  of  the  Greeks.  At  Rome  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  abominations  of  the  secret  doc- 
ti'ines  of  the  heathen ;  and  after  studying  the  Scrip- 
tures in  company  with  Justin  Martyr,  with  whose 
school  he  was  for  a  long  time  connected,  he  made  open 
profession  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  as  well  as  Justin 
was  persecuted  by  Crescens.  Tatian  withdrew  to  the 
East,  and  there  fell  into  certain  Gnostic  and  especially 
Valentinian  errors,  taught  dualism  and  doceticism^  be- 


13G  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

came  excessively  austere,  and  was  tlie  founder  of  the 
Encratites,  who  rejected  even  marriage  as  unchaste. 
He  died  about  the  year  190.  We  have  from  him  an 
oration  against  the  Greeks,  written  before  he  left  the 
orthodox  church.  He  here  attacks  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers, and  asserts  that  they  had  learned  all  their  wis- 
dom from  the  barbarians,  and  that  the  doctrine  trans- 
mitted from  the  Hebrews  to  the  Christians  was  the 
only  true  philosophy.  He  even  in  this  treatise  shows 
a  strong  tendency  towards  the  Gnosticism  which  he 
subsequently  advocated  openly.  His  Harmony  of  the 
Gospels  is  lost,  though  some  account  of  it  is  given  by 
Eusebius,  E.  H.  iv.  29,  and  also  by  Theodoret  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  he  is  alluded  to  also  by 
Irenaeus.  His  testimony  to  the  Gospels,  as  given  by 
his  Harmony,  is  of  great  value,  as  is  abundantly  seen 
from  the  statements  of  those  who  had  read  it.  A 
writer  of  the  twelfth  century,  Dionysius  Bar  Salibi, 
testifies  that  the  Harmony  of  Tatian  began  with  the 
first  words  of  John's  Gospel,  In  the  heginning  ivas  tlw 
Word. 

TertuUian  (  Quintus  Septimius  Florens)  was  born  at 
Carthage  about  the  year  160,  and  is  the  oldest  of  the 
Latin  church  fathers  whose  writings  have  reached  us. 
He  devoted  himself  at  first  to  the  study  of  the  Ro- 
man law,  but  after  his  conversion  to  Christianity  he 
was  ordained  presbyter,  but  whether  at  Carthage  or 
Rome  is  uncertain.  From  this  time  with  much  learn- 
ing and  a  fiery  zeal  he  assailed  Jews,  heathens  and 
heretics,  in  a  series  of  energetic  treatises.  His  own 
severe  and  fiery  nature,  and  perhaps  also  the  many 
annoyances  which  he  suffered  from  the  Roman  presby 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  137 

ters,^  induced  Mm,  about  the  year  203^  to  join  the  Mon- 
tanists ;  but  he  held  their  principles  with  moderation, 
and  from  this  time  onward  he  directed  many  sharp  and 
energetic  writings  against  the  Romish  church.  He 
died,  as  some  say,  aboui  the  year  220,  or,  according 
to  others,  as  late  as  240.  He  writes  in  a  peculiar  and 
very  difficult  Latin  style,  but  with  rhetorical  skill  and 
great  force  and  fire.  His  writings  are  numerous  and 
have  been  well  preserved  and  published  very  often. 
They  are  apologetic,  polemic  and  practical.  Being  so 
numerous  and  diversified  and  written  so  near  the  apos- 
tolic age,  by  one  who  had  been  educated  a  Roman 
lawyer,  and  who  was  the  son  of  a  Roman  soldier  of 
proconsular  rank,  their  testimony  to  the  New  Testament 
books  is  exceedingly  interesting  and  important.  His 
chief  book,  his  Apology  against  the  Gentiles,  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Roman  governors  in  Africa  ;  in  his  book 
on  the  testimony  of  the  soul  his  object  is  to  show  that 
Christianity  is  founded  in  the  nature  of  man.  He 
wrote  two  books  on  marriage  addressed  to  his  own 
wife,  in  which  he  sets  forth  the  principles  that  should 
govern  Christian  men  and  women  in  their  domestic 
relations ;  also  a  work  to  show  that  Christians  ought 
not  to  attend  the  games  and  spectacles  of  the  pagans ; 
another  in  defence  of  a  Christian  soldier  who  refused 
to  wear  the  military  garland ;  one  to  show  that  Chris- 
tians should  take  no  part  in  the  construction  of  images 
or  other  implements  of  idolatry ;  an  exhortation  to 
chastity  to  a  widow  against  a  second  marriage ;  a  book 
to  show, that  both  married  women  and  virgins  should 
remain  veiled  in  church ;  one  against  female  extrava- 
gance in  dress ;  one  in  defense  of  himself  for  putting 


138  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

off  the  Roman  toga  and  assuming  the  philospher's 
mantle  ;  and  on  various  other  topics. 

Theodoret^  the  only  son  of  pious  parents,  was  bom 
at  Antioch  about  the  year  390.  He  was  educated  at 
a  neighboring  monastery,  where  he  was  associated  with 
Chrysostom  and  Nestorius.  In  420  he  was  ordained 
bishop  of  Cyrus  in  Syria,  and  is  said  to  have  had  the 
superintendence  of  800  churches.  The  country  was 
overrun  with  Marcionites  and  anti-trinitarian  sects ;  but 
such  was  his  zeal  and  tact  that  he  brought  almost  all 
of  them  into  the  communion  of  the  orthodox  church, 
having  himself,  as  he  says,  baptized  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  Marcionites.  In  431  he  took  the  part  of 
Nestorius,  his  early  friend,  against  Cyrill,  and  for  this 
he  was  excommunicated  in  449,  but  was  restored  to 
the  communion  of  the  church  by  Leo,  bishop  of  Rome ; 
and  after  he  had  at  Chalcedon,  in  451,  publicly  recanted 
and  given  his  vote  against  Nestorius,  he  was  reinstated 
in  his  bishopric.  From  this  time  he  devoted  himself 
to  writing  till  his  death  in  457.  He  left  a  commentary 
on  most  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  on 
all  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and  a  church  history  in  con- 
tinuation of  Eusebius  to  the  year  427,  besides  several 
other  works  and  nearly  two  hundred  letters.  His 
writings  are  among  the  best  which  that  age  produced ; 
they  have  been  well  preserved  and  handsomely  pub- 
lished in  good  and  readable  editions. 

Theodotus^  a  learned  tanner  of  Byzantium,  about 
the  year  192,  fled  from  persecution  there  and  took 
refuge  at  Rome.  Since  he  had  denied  Christ  in  that 
persecution  for  the  sake  of  saving  his  own  life,  he  was 
excommunicated   by   Victor,   bishop   of   Rome.     He 


THE     ONE     HUNDRED     WITNESSES.  139 

then  taught  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man,  and  this  led 
him  of  course  to  reject  the  Gospel  of  John.  He  was 
welcomed  among  the  Montanists.  A  considerable  por- 
tion of  one  of  his  works,  containing  important  testi- 
monies to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  is  still  in 
good  preservation  among  the  writings  of  Clement  of 
Alexandria. 

TlieopMlus  was  the  sixth  bishop  of  Antioch,  about 
the  year  168.  He  was  heathen  or  Saducee,  but  by  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures  was  brought  to  acknowledge 
the  truth  of  Christianity  and  devote  himself  to  the 
Christian  ministry.  Some  account  is  given  of  him  by 
Eusebius,  E.  H.  iv.  20,  24.  He  wrote  against  Hermo- 
genes,  against  Marcion,  and  a  commentary  on  the  four 
Gospels.  These  writings  are  lost.  But  we  have  fi'om 
him  three  books  in  vindication  of  Christianity,  addressed 
to  his  pagan  friend  Autolycus.  He  takes  much  the 
same  views  as  Justin  Martyr.  The  three  days  of  crea- 
tion preceding  the  appearance  of  the  sun  and  moon 
he  regards  as  typical  of  the  trinity  (rqiaiog)  of  God, 
the  earliest  mention  which  we  have  of  the  word  trinity. 
The  account  of  vegetables  springing  up  from  the  seeds 
he  considers  typical  of  the  resurrection  of  our  bodies, 
an  idea  which  he  might  have  borrowed  from  St.  Paul. 

Titus.^  bishop  of  Bostra  in  Arabia,  suffered  persecu- 
tion  under  Julian  the  apostate,  and  in  the  reign  of 
Jovian  attended  the  Synod  of  Antioch,  in  the  year 
363.  His  three  books  against  the  Manichaeans  are 
still  extant. 

Yalentinus^  the  celebrated  Gnostic,  was  by  birth  an 
Egyptian,  probably  of  Jewish  origin,  and  educated  at 
Alexandria,  about  the  year  120.     TertuUian  says  he 


1-40  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

forsook  the  Christian  church  because  he  was  not  made 
a  bishop.  He  formed  a  Gnostic  system  of  his  own, 
which  he  zealously  propagated  in  the  city  of  Rome, 
where  he  lived  till  the  bishopric  of  Anicetus.  His 
most  celebrated  disciples  were  Heracleon,  Ptolemy, 
Mark,  and  Bardesanes.  A  gospel  of  his  own,  which 
he  and  his  followers  used,  they  called  the  gospel  of 
truth.  Several  quotations  from  him,  containing  im- 
portant testimonies  to  our  sacred  books,  are  made  by 
the  church  fathers,  especially  by  Irenaeus.  Some 
account  of  him  is  given  by  Eusebius,  E.  H.  iv.  11. 
He  cites  all  the  Gospels,  but  gives  the  preference  to 
John,  and  was  familiar  also  with  the  writings  of  Paul. 
Vidormus^  bishop  of  Pettau  in  Steiermark,  towards 
the  end  of  the  third  century,  suffered  martyrdom  un- 
der Diocletian,  in  the  year  303.  He  wrote  commenta- 
ries on  almost  all  the  books  of  Scripture,  of  which  only 
fragments  remain.  There  is  still  extant  a  commentary 
on  the  Apocalypse  ascribed  to  him. 


CHAPTER    FIFTH. 

TESTIMONY  FOR  THE  HISTORICAL   BOOKS    OF  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT. 

,  Each  book  of  the  New  Testament  is  a  distinct  work 
bv  itself;  as  to  the  examination  of  its  claims  each 
must  stand  independent  of  all  the  rest,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  each  must  be  separately  investigated.  Before 
proceeding,  however,  to  this  individual  examination, 
there  are  some  general  considerations  which  should  be 
continually  kept  in  mind. 

Those  books,  and  those  only,  were  regarded  by  the 
primitive  Christians  as  a  part  of  their  New  Testament 
canon  which  were  written  either  by  an  apostle  or  by 
an  associate  of  an  apostle  with  apostolic  superintend- 
ence and  sanction.  The  authority  of  an  inspired  apos- 
tle was  the  only  authority  for  a  sacred  book. 

The  four  Gospels  which  we  have,  and  these  only, 
have  always  been  acknowledged  and  quoted  by  Chris- 
tians and  heretics,  Jews  and  pagans,  as  the  authoritative 
books  of  the  Christian  church.  Other  gospels  have  ex- 
isted, and  heretics  have  claimed  for  them  equal  or  supe- 
rior authority  to  those  which  we  regard  as  authentic ; 
but  it  has  never  been  pretended  that  the  Christian 
church  has  acknowledged  any  other  gospels  as  canon- 
ical. 

Yery  generally  the  Gospels  have  been  arranged  in 
the  order  in  which  we  now  have  them,  which  is  prob- 


142  THE     BOOKS     OF     TPIE     BIBLE. 

ably  the  order  of  time  in  which  thev  were  written ;  but 
many  ancient  authorities  put  John  immediately  after 
Matthew,  thus  placing  the  two  apostolic  Gospels  to- 
gether. 

The  origin  of  the  Gospels,  according  to  the  best 
circumstantial  evidence  that  we  can  obtain,  seems 
to  have  been  this :  The  apostles  preached  Christ,  that 
is,  they  told  their  hearers  who  Christ  was,  what  he 
had  done,  and  taught,  and  suffered ;  and  explained 
the  connection  between  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  and 
the  religious  welfare  of  mankind.  As  was  customary 
in  ancient  times,  when  books  were  rare  and  sold  at  an 
exorbitant  price,  many  of  their  hearers  took  notes  of 
their  discourses,  and  sent  copies  of  them  to  their 
friends.  These  notes,  necessarily  imperfect,  without 
authority,  and  sometimes  perhaps  contradictory,  were 
widely  circulated.  To  prevent  confusion  and  mistake 
the  evangelists  were  divinely  directed  to  write  and 
publish  authentic  narratives,  for  the  instruction  of  their 
contemporaries  and  posterity. 

Luke  refers  to  these  prior  accounts,  which  had  been 
wi'itten  and  circulated,  in  chapter  i.  v.  1,  of  his  Gospel : 
"Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth 
in  order,"  etc.  "  Many  "  can  not  refer  to  Matthew  and 
Mark,  who  had  written  before  him ;  for  two  could 
hardly  be  styled  "  many ;  "  and  in  verse  4,  Luke  says 
he  wrote,  that  the  "certainty,"  respecting  the  Saviour, 
micrht  be  known.  Now  if  Matthew  and  Mark  had 
been  referred  to  in  the  word  "many,"  therip  would 
have  been  no  need  of  writing  another  account,  as  they 
were  credible  and  inspired  writers  as  well  as  Luke, 
and  the  "  certainty "  could  have  been  learned  from 
them  as  well  as  from  him. 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      143 

The  first  three  are  called  the  Synoptic  Gospels^  because 
on  account  of  their  similarity,  they  can  be  taken 
together  in  one  view  and  thus  afford  a  sort  of  harmon- 
ized narrative  of  the  life  of  Christ. 

Those  books  and  those  only  were  regarded  by  the 
primitive  Christians  as  of  canonical  authority,  which 
were  written  by  apostles,  or  by  the  companions  of  the 
apostles  under  apostolic  superintendence. 

The  question  in  regard  to  the  canonical  authority 
of  any  book,  therefore,  was  a  question  of  simple  fact, 
in  respect  to  which  the  churches  at  that  time  had  every 
opportunity  of  forming  a  correct  judgment.  Most  of 
the  churches  were  personally  acquainted  with  several 
of  the  apostles ;  and  every  one  of  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  was  personally  known  to  many  of  the 
churches. 

The  churches  from  which  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  proceeded,  were  situated  around  the  shores 
of  the  lyiediterranean  sea,  from  Egypt,  through  Pales- 
tine, Asia  Minor  and  Greece,  to  Italy ;  and  through  these 
countries,  in  consequence  of  the  extensive  military 
operations  of  the  Roman  empire  and  the  roads  estab- 
lished for  the  convenience  of  the  soldiery,  and  the 
glory  of  Rome  and  the  preservation  of  her  power, 
communication  was  then  easy  and  frequent.  These 
churches  were  engaged  in  a  great  and  common  cause, 
in  the  prosecution  of  which  they  were  obliged  to  en- 
counter obloquy  and  persecution  of  the  severest  kind ; 
and  naturally  they  became  strongly  attached  to  each 
other,  and  the  more  intimately  connected  the  more 
they  were  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  Thus 
we  find  them  relieving  each  other's  necessities  by  char- 


144  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

itable  contributions  (Acts  xi.  29 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1-3  ; 
2  Cor.  viii.  1 ;  Gal.  ii.  10).  Ministers  and  church  mem- 
bers traveling,  were  recommended  by  one  church  to 
another:  (Acts  xviii.  27  ;  Rom.  xvi.  1,  2  ;  2  Cor.  iii,  1 ; 
Col.  iv.  10).  Churches  sent  friendly  salutations  to  one 
another  (2  Cor.  xiii.  1 ;  Phil.  iv.  22).  Apostolic  wri- 
tings were  sent  from  one  church  to  another  (Col.  iv.l6). 

The  churches  so  intimately  connected,  so  frequently 
visited  by  different  apostles,  and  teachers,  and  church 
members,  and  continually  sending  their  sacred  writings 
from  one  to  another,  could  not  be  deceived  as  to  what 
were  apostolic  books,  and  what  were  not.  It  w^ould  be 
perfectly  easy  to  ascertain,  in  respect  to  any  production, 
whether  an  apostle  composed  it  or  superintended  its 
composition.  If  this  were  the  case,  the  book  was 
received  as  of  canonical  authority ;  if  not,  its  claims 
to  such  authority  were  rejected. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  to  impose  upon 
these  churches  spurious  books,  as  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  or  apostolic  men,  during  their  lifetime,  or  the 
lifetime  of  the  members  of  the  churches  who  had  been 
acquainted  withUhem.  Such  deception,  every  one 
knows,  would  be  impossible  now.  No  one  could  write 
a  letter  to  the  churches  of  the  United  States  or  Great 
Britain,  or  any  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  affix 
to  it  the  name  of  any  well  known  living  preacher,  as 
Spurgeon,  or  of  one  recently  deceased,  as  bishop 
Whately,  without  exposing  himself  to  immediate  de- 
tection. Deception  would  have  been  equally  impos- 
sible then ;  for  communication  was  then  equally  easy 
and  frequent  between  the  several  places  where  churches 
were  situated,  and  the  connection  between  the  churches 
was  still  more  intimate  then  than  it  is  now. 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    X.TEST.      145 

The  canonical  books  were  kept  in  a  sacred  deposi- 
tory in  the  churches,  as  the  manuscript  rolls  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  still  kept  by  the  Jews  in  their  syn- 
agogues ;  and  they  were  read  in  course  every  Lord's 
day  as  a  part  of  the  regular  religious  service.  Books 
written  by  those  who  were  not  apostles  or  apostolic 
deputies,  as  Clemens  Romanus,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  and 
others,  were  also  occasionally  read  in  public  on  the 
Lord's  day,  for  the  instruction  of  the  congregation ; 
as  ministers  now  sometimes  read  occasional  communica- 
tions from  the  pulpit.  But  the  reading  of  these  books 
did  not  make  a  part  of  the  regular  religious  service, 
and  they  were  not  taken  up  till  after  the  customary 
reading  of  the  canonical  Scriptures  had  closed."^ 

The  internal  and  circumstantial  evidence  confirms 
the  judgment  of  the  ancient  churches  respecting  the 
canonical  authority  of  these  books. 

1.  The  contents  of  the  books  agree  in  every  respect 
with  what  we  know  from  other  sources  concerning  the 
history  of  those  times ;  and  nothing  can  be  detected 
in  them  inconsistent  with  their  claims  to  authenticity. 
They  exhibit  no  mai'ks  of  a  later  composition ;  and 
the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  style  by  which  the 
several  books  are  distinguished  from  each  other,  give 
evidence  of  their  genuineness. 

2.  The  dialect  in  which  these  books  are  written,  is 
a  convincing  proof  of  their  genuineness.  They  are 
written  in  a  Hebraistic  Greek,  which  was  used  chiefly 
by  Jews  of  the  first  century,  and  went  into  very  general 
disuse  before  the  close  of  the  third  century.  These 
books,   then,  if  they  are  forgeries,   must  have  been 

*Cave's  Primitive  Christianity,  Part  I.  Chap.  9. 

10 


146  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

forged  during  the  lives  of  the  men  to  whom  they  are 
ascribed,  or  very  soon  after  their  death ;  and  it  is 
utterly  incredible  that  such  forgeries  should  ever  have 
gained  general  credit. 

These  books,  if  written  by  the  apostles,  or  with  apos- 
tolic superintendence  and  sanction,  are  worthy  of  be- 
lief, simply  as  books  written  by  capable  and  honest 
men,  setting  aside  all  questions  in  regard  to  divine 
inspiration  and  authority. 

CREDIBILITY    OF    THE    GOSPELS. 

I  do  not  here  touch  the  question  of  the  inspiration 
or  divine  authority  of  the  Gospels;  but  simply  the 
credibility  of  the  writers  as  men — as  men  capable  and 
honest,  or  incapable  and  dishonest.  Their  claims  to 
inspiration  will  be  considered  in  another  place.  As 
evidence  of  their  credibility  we  observe, 

1.  They  were  well  qualified  to  give  testimony  re- 
specting all  the  facts  which  they  relate ;  for  three  of 
them,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John,  were  eyewitnesses  of 
the  transactions  which  they  record,  and  Luke  made 
himself  acquainted  with  the  facts  by  a  diligent  inves- 
tigation of  the  whole  subject.  Their  manner  of  wri- 
ting, and  all  that  we  know  respecting  them,  proves 
that  they  were  men  of  capacity  and  discernment  suffi- 
cient to  make  them  competent  judges  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances which  they  relate. 

2.  They  give  every  proof  of  the  most  perfect  sim- 
plicity and  honesty.  They  impartially  narrate  their 
own  faults  and  the  faults  of  their  brethren  ;  when,  perse- 
cuted and  defamed  as  they  were,  it  would  liave  been  very 
natural  for  men  in  their  situation  to  endeavor  to  palli- 


HISTORICAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      147 

ate  each  other  s  failings.  They  expose  all  their  own 
weaknesses ;  when,  if  they  had  been  impostors,  it  would 
have  been  greatly  for  their  interest  to  have  concealed 
them.  They  record  with  singular  fidelity  the  severe 
rebukes  which  they  received  from  their  master  for 
their  timidity,  forgetfulness,  thoughtlessness  and  unbe- 
lief (compare  Matt.  xxvi.  69  ;  Mark  vi.  49-52 ;  viii. 
14-21  ;  Luke  xxiv.  25,  and  many  other  passages). 
What  stronger  proof  of  honesty  is  it  possible  to 
require  ? 

3.  They  changed  their  whole  mode  of  life  in  con- 
sequence of  their  belief  of  the  facts  which  they  stated, 
and  endured  all  manner  of  suffering  in  attestation  of 
their  truth.  They  themselves  certainly  believed  that 
the  things  of  which  they  testified,  had  actually  oc- 
curred ;  and  these  facts  were  of  such  a  nature,  and 
such  were  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  that  the  wit- 
nesses could  not  have  believed  them,  unless  they  had 
actually  taken  place. 

4.  If  their  statements  had  not  been  true,  the  false- 
hood could  have  been  easily  detected  ; — for  they  were 
continually  surrounded  by  bitter  enemies  who  were 
ceaselessly  watchful  to  seize  upon  every  advantage  to 
hinder  their  progress.  The  Jews  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  were  continually  coming  to  Judea,  with  full  op- 
portunity to  learn  everything  that  occurred  there,  and 
to  report  it  when  they  returned  to  their  homes.  But 
the  principal  facts  of  the  gospel  history,  instead  of 
being  denied,  were  admitted  by  its  enemies ;  and  Judas 
himself,  who  had  been  intimate  with  the  disciples,  en- 
joyed their  confidence,  and  partaken  in  all  their  coun- 
:iels,  and  who  had  every  inducement  to  excuse  his  own 


148  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

baseness  by  alleging  crime  against  liim  whom  lie  had 
betrayed,  offered  no  such  vindication  of  himself,  but 
acknowledged  that  he  had  sinned  and  betrayed  the 
innocent,  and  gave  proof  of  the  reality  of  his  remorse 
and  the  depth  of  his  wretchedness  by  violently  destroy- 
ing his  own  life.  What  stronger  testimony  can  we 
have  to  the  innocency  of  Jesus  and  the  integrity  of 
the  gospel  history  ? 

5.  It  is  impossible  that  the  character  of  Jesus  should 
be  a  fiction,  invented  by  such  men  as  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament.  Their  education,  character,  cir- 
cumstances, everything  precludes  the  idea  of  their  pos- 
sessing the  ability  or  the  inclination  to  conceive  and 
delineate  such  a  character,  unless  they  had  actually 
seen  it  exhibited  before  their  eyes.  Where  in  that 
corrupt  age,  where  in  all  the  history  of  the  world, 
could  they  have  found  a  model  on  which  to  form  so 
grand,  so  perfect  an  idea  ?  And  if  a  model,  or  even 
the  nucleus  of  such  a  character,  had  existed,  how  were 
poor,  unlettered  publicans  and  fishermen  to  learn  the 
skill  to  fashion  and  exhibit  it  with  such  beauty  and 
effect  ? 

A  character  possessing  every  virtue,  without  any  of 
the  corresponding  failings,  towards  which,  in  imperfect 
human  nature,  each  virtue  leans — courage  without 
rashness,  humility  without  meanness,  dignity  without 
arrogance,  perseverance  without  obstinacy,  affection 
without  weakness — always  acting  in  exact  consistency, 
and  never  ruffled  by  anger  or  depressed  by  despair, 
in  all  the  severe  and  aggravating  trials  through  which 
he  passed.  How  could  they  draw  such  a  character 
except  from  the  living  person  ?     And  who  could  this 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      149 

person  have  been,  if  not  he  who  came  down  from 
heaven  ?  How  short  was  his  stay  upon  earth !  scarcely 
three  years  of  pubhc  life,  and  yet  how  glorious,  how 
permanent  the  results!  A  world  disenthralled,  cor- 
rupting and  debasing  superstitions  overthrown,  men 
placed  in  circumstances  of  improvement  by  which  they 
are  continually  advancing  their  social  and  public  wel- 
fare ;  and  now,  nearly  two  thousand  years  after  his 
death,  while  other  founders  of  religious  systems  of 
more  recent  origin  have  already  lost  their  hold  on  the 
human  mind,  the  influence  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  yet 
young  and  fresh,  and  more  extensive  and  powerful  than 
it  has  ever  been  before  ;  still  increasing  and  strength- 
ening and  brightening,  evidently  to  go  on  till  the  affec- 
tions of  every  human  heart  shall  be  gained,  and  every 
tongue  shall  confess  him  Lord !  Has  all  this  grown 
out  of  a  fiction  contrived  by  the  poor  fishermen  of 
Galilee  ? 

Another  consideration  of  great  importance,  to  be 
taken  in  connection  with  the  exalted  moral  perfection 
of  Jesus,  and  the  wonderful  good  sense  which  charac- 
terizes his  teachings  is  the  coolness  and  calmness  and 
quiet  assurance  with  which  he  makes  the  most  astound- 
ing claims,  which,  if  made  by  any  human  being  would 
be  absurd,  revolting  and  preposterous  in  the  extreme. 
For  example,  his  discourse  at  Capernaum,  John  vi.  32 
-65,  and  also  many  other  passages  of  similar  import, 
necessarily  imply  that  if  Jesus  were  not  the  Divine 
Person  he  claimed  to  be,  he  was  the  most  raving  of 
fanatics,  a  supposition  entirely  inconsistent  with  the 
whole  course  of  his  life  and  every  trait  of  his  personal 
character. 


150  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

It  is  true  that  these  expressions  are  metaphorical ; 
but  let  us  look  at  them  closely. 

"Whoso  eatetJi  my  jiesh  and  drinketh  my  hlood^  hath 
eternal  life. 

For  my  jiesh  is  meat  indeed  and  m?/  hlood  is  drink 
indeed.     He  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by 

ME." 

These  metaphors  are  so  strange,  so  uncouth, 
and  so  intensely  abhorent,  especially  to  all  Hebrew 
conceptions  and  ideas,  that  when  used  before  a  Jew- 
ish assembly  by  a  teacher  so  sober,  so  clear-headed, 
so  full  of  practical  common  sense  as  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  continuous  sen- 
tences, notwithstanding  the  offence  which  they  very 
naturally  gave,  they  certainly  must  indicate  an  idea 
utterly  remote  from  the  common  range  of  human 
thought,  unparalleled,  and  hitherto  in  human  language 
unexpressed, — and  all  this  occurs  in  the  assertion  of  a 
claim  peculiar  to  himself,  a  property  which  no  other 
being  in  the  universe,  except  himself,  has  or  can  have. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOSPELS. GENERAL  REMARKS. 

One  of  the  first  remarks  we  rnake  on  examining  the 
Four  Gospels  is,  that  while  the  first  three  have  a  strik- 
ing general  resemblance  to  each  other,  the  fourth  is 
altogether  peculiar,  frequently  in  the  substance  of  the 
narrative  itself  and  always  in  the  mode  of  narrating. 
So  marked  is  this  peculiarity  of  John,  that  the  simple 
enunciation  of  a  single  sentence  from  his  gospel  strikes 
the  ear  in  a  way  that  precludes  the  possibility  of  refer- 
ring it  to  either  of  the  other  evangelists. 

Another  thing  which  we  notice  is,  that  the  several 


HISTORICAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      151 

evangelists,  in  narrating  the  same  circumstance  or 
reporting  the  same  discourse,  seldom  or  never  employ 
exactly  the  same  words;  h)ut  rather  give  the  sense 
in  forms  of  expression  slightly  varied.  To  illus- 
trate this  fact  by  a  single  example,  take  the  sentence 
which  was  pronounced  from  heaven  at  the  time  of  our 
Saviour's  baptism.  Matthew  (iii.  17)  gives  it,  '•'■This  is 
my  beloved  son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased;  "  Mark 
(i.  11)  '■'■TJiou  art  my  beloved  son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased;"  and  Luke  (iii.  22)  "Thou  art  my  beloved 
son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased."  A  like  variation  is 
often  observable  in  the  quotation  of  the  same  passage 
of  the  Old  Testament  by  the  different  writers  of  the 
New.  For  example,  compare  Deut.  viii.  3,  andvi.  13, 
as  quoted  by  Matthew  (iv.  4,  10)  and  by  Luke  (iv. 
4,  8).  In  all  these  cases  the  sense  is  faithfully  pre- 
served, but  the  phraseology  is  varied.  The  writers 
of  the  New"  Testament,  indeed,  never  appear  to  aim 
at  exact  quotations  of  language,  and  provided  the 
meaning  is  given,  the  mode  of  expression  is  regarded 
as  of  comparatively  little  importance. 

Two  of  the  evangelists  only,  Matthew  and  Luke, 
give  an  account  of  the  birth  and  childhood  of  Christ ; 
but  all  the  four  are  very  particular  in  their  details 
respecting  his  death  and  resurrection ;  for  these  were 
the  great  events  on  which  the  most  important  conse- 
quences depended. 

The  most  important  fact,  however,  to  be  borne  in 
mind  in  reading  the  Gospels,  is,  that  they  are  neither 
histories  nor  full  biographies,  but  simply  scattered 
notices  of  transactions  and  discourses  intended  to  illus- 
ti'ate  particular  points  in  the  character  of  Christ,  and 


152  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

SO  arranged  as  to  secure  this  purpose,  but  with  httle 
regard  to  the  order  of  time.  The  evangelists  disclaim 
all  intention  of  writing  complete  and  consecutive  nar- 
ratives, and  declare  that  their  whole  design  is,  by 
relating  a  few  facts,  to  give  such  an  impression  respect- 
ing the  character,  teachings  and  works  of  Christ,  as 
might  induce  men  to  receive  him  as  the  promised  Mes- 
siah, the  Saviour  of  the  world  (John  xx.  30,  31 ;  xxi. 
25).  The  evangelist  here  says,  expressly,  that  he  had 
taken  but  few  facts  from  the  whole  number  Avhich  had 
fallen  under  his  notice,  and  that  these  had  been  selected 
with  exclusive  reference  to  the  object  above  stated. 
We  are  not  to  look,  therefore,  for  complete  biography 
or  chronological  arrangement  in  the  Gospels,  but  only 
for  detached  examples  of  the  teachings  and  doings  of 
Christ,  suited  to  illustrate  his  character. 

The  character  of  the  Gospels  in  this  respect  can  be 
easily  illustrated  by  analogous  examples  from  classical 
literature.  After  the  death  of  Socrates,  his  disciples, 
Plato  and  Xenophon,  undertook  by  their  literary  efforts 
to  vindicate  the  character  of  their  master  from  the 
aspersions  cast  upon  it  by  his  enemies.  The  work  of 
Xenophon  is  divided  into  four  books  and  subdivided 
into  distinct  topics.  The  topics  of  the  first  book  are 
the  following : 

I.  Socrates  did  not  contemn  the  gods  of  his  country, 
nor  introduce  new  objects  of  worship. 

II.  Socrates  was  not  a  corrupter  of  young  men. 

III.  What  sort  of  man  Socrates  was,  both  in  words 
and  deeds,  during  his  whole  life. 

IV.  How  Socrates  demonstrated  the  existence  of 
God. 


HISTORICAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.       153 

V.  How  Socrates  discoursed  on  temperance. 

VI.  Disputation  of  Socrates  with  Antiphon  the 
sophist. 

VII.  How  Socrates  dissuaded  men  from  arrogance. 
Each  of  these  topics   is   illustrated   by  anecdotes 

respecting  Socrates,  and  by  reports  of  conversations 
which  he  had  with  different  persons,  Ibearing  on  the 
several  points  ;  and  these  are  thrown  together  in  the 
manner  best  suited  to  illustrate  the  different  topics, 
without  res^ard  to  the  order  of  time  in  which  the  trans- 
actions  or  conversations  actually  took  place,  and  with- 
out any  endeavor  to  preserve  the  appearance  of  con- 
tinuity of  narrative.  Accordingly,  this  work  is  never 
regarded  as  a  biography  of  Socrates,  and  is  always 
referred  to  under  the  appellation  of  memoirs  or  memo- 
rahilia.  Its  Greek  title  a7TOfivr]f/ovsviimra  (^apomnemoneu- 
matd)  is  applied  by  Justin  Martyr  to  the  Gospels,  and 
with  great  propriety,  for  they  are  works  of  precisely 
the  same  kind. 

An  examination  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  will  show 
that  it  is  constructed  on  a  plan  very  similar  to  that  of 
Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of  Socrates.  After  a  brief 
notice  of  the  birth  and  childhood  of  Jesus  (i.  ii.)  and 
his  entrance  on  his  public  ministry  (iii.  iv.),  Matthew 
proceeds  to  show  what  Christ  was  as  a  public  teacher 
of  religion,  and  gives  an  adequate  example  of  the 
nature  of  his  instructions  and  his  mode  of  communi- 
cating them,  by  reporting  at  considerable  length  the 
substance  of  his  sermon  on  the  mount  (v.-vii.).  I 
say  the  substance  of  the  sermon,  for  it  is  evident  that 
Matthew  does  not  give  the  whole  discourse  word  for 
word  as  it  was  uttered,  from  the  fact  that  Luke,  who 


154  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

in  a  briefer  abstract  of  the  same  sermon  (vi.  20-49), 
has  yet  inserted  some  things  omitted  by  Mattheiv,  as 
for  example  the  three  woes  corresponding  to  the  bea- 
titudes (Luke  vi.  25). 

Matthew  next  exhibits  Christ  as  a  worker  of  mira- 
cles, and  collects  into  one  connected  view  several  mira- 
cles of  different  kinds,  wrought  in  various  places  and 
at  different  times,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  what 
Christ  was  in  reference  to  the  exercise  of  miraculous 
powers  (viii.  ix.). 

He  afterwards  exhibits  Christ  in  another  view,  as  a 
teacher  by  parables,  and  collects  together  several  dif- 
ferent parables  as  a  specimen  of  this  most  interesting 
mode  of  teaching  (xiii.). 

Thus  throughout  his  Gospel,  Matthew  does  not  fol- 
low any  chronological  series  of  events  or  instructions, 
but  groups  together  things  of  the  same  kind,  and  shows 
by  a  series  of  living  pictures,  what  Christ  was  in  all 
the  various  circumstances  through  which  he  passed. 
This  mode  of  writing  was  chosen  by  him  for  the  same 
reason  that  it  had  been  before  by  Xenophon,  because 
it  was  the  best  adapted  to  the  particular  purpose  he 
had  in  view,  which  was  to  vindicate  the  character  of 
Christ  before  his  countrymen,  and  set  it  in  its  true 
light. 

Christ  had  been  the  great  moral  teacher  and  bene 
factor  of  his  nation.  He  had  been  undervalued,  slan- 
dered, and  persecuted  all  his  life,  and  was  at  last  un- 
justly doomed  to  a  cruel  death,  attended  with  all  the 
circumstances  of  indignity  and  shame,  which  could  be 
brought  together  to  blast  his  reputation  and  throw  a 
shade  over  the  splendor  of  his  exalted  virtues.     Mat- 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.       155 

thew,  liis  disciple,  like  Xenoplion,  tlie  disciple  of  Soc- 
rates, knew  and  could  appreciate  his  master's  worth ; 
and  by  a  simple"  detail  of  what  he  did  and  said  in  vari- 
ous circumstances  and  on  different  topics,  sought  to 
disarm  the  prejudices  of  his  countrymen,  and  bring 
them  to  see  what  sort  of  a  man  he  was,  whom  their 
rulers  ivith  luicked  hands  had  crucified  and  slain. 

After  these  general  remarks  we  shall  now  turn  our 
attention  to  the  particular  circumstances  of  each  one 
of  the  evangelists,  the  special  object  each  had  in  viev,^ 
while  writing,  the  distinguishing  peculiarities  of  each 
one  of  the  several  Gospels,  and  especially  the  precise 
grounds  of  evidence  on  which  each  of  these  books 
stands  before  us  in  the  Bible. 

For  a  knowledge  of  these  particulars  Ave  must  rely 
mainly  on  incidental  and  brief  hints  scattered  through 
the  New  Testament ;  for  the  evangelists  never  make 
themselves  prominent  in  their  narratives,  nor  give  any 
details  respecting  their  personal  history  and  circum- 
stances. They  iireach  not  themselves^  hut  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord. 

The  genuineness  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  a  question  simply  of  historical  fact,  nothing 
more  nor  less,  and  like  every  other  question  of  fact,  is 
to  be  ascertained  and  determined  by  testimony,  by  the 
testimony  of  independent  and  credible  witnesses,  and 
this  testimony  not  contradicted,  but  confirmed  and 
sustained  by  the  internal  evidence.  We  have  already 
shown  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  the  testimony  of 
the  early  Christians,  to  their  own  sacred  books,  is 
at  least  as  good  and  worthy  of  belief  as  any  hu- 
man testimony;    and  that  if   the  facts  in  regard  to 


156  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

their  books  can  not  be  established  by  their  testi- 
mony, no  facts  of  secular  history  can  ever  be  estab- 
lished by  any  human  testimony  whatever.  Before 
proceeding  to  the  examination  of  each  one  of  the  his- 
torical books  of  the  New  Testament,  we  wish  to  give 
some  general  idea  of  the  state  of  the  testimony  in 
regard  to  them  during  the  first  four  centuries.  We 
must  remember  that  the  great  majority  of  the  writers 
of  this  early  period  have  gone  into  oblivion,  their 
writings  have  perished,  and  the  witnesses  whom  we 
can  call  are  but  the  few  survivors  of  an  immense  ship- 
wreck. We  will  cite  the  principal  witnesses  by  name ; 
and  refer  the  reader  to  the  preceding  chapter  for  a 
brief  biography  of  the  witnesses  cited,  which  will  shovv^ 
their  value  as  witnesses  by  a  statement  in  regard  to 
their  character  and  their  qualifications  to  give  testi- 
mony on  this  particular  point. 

For  the  first  three,  or  the  synoptical  Gospels  in  con- 
nection, we  call  as  witnesses,  three  of  the  personal 
friends  and  associates  of  the  apostle  Paul — to  wit,  Bar- 
nabas, Clement  of  Rome  (Phil.  iv.  3),  Hennas  (Rom. 
xvi.  14),  and  also  Ignatius  and  Polycarp,  the  friends 
and  associates  of  the  apostle  John,  five  good  witnesses. 

For  the  four  Gospels  in  connection,  the  witnesses 
are  Polycarp,  Papias,  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Tatian, 
Theophilus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Origen, 
Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius,  Epiphanius,  and 
Jerome — thirteen  witnesses,  ten  of  them  not  cited 
before. 

To  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  individually,  Papias,  Jus- 
tin Martyr,  Hegcsippus,  Irenaeus,  Tatian,  Athenagoras, 
Theophilus,  Pantaenus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Ter- 


HISTOKICAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      157 

tullian,  Julius  Africanus,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Cyrill  of 
Jerusalem,  Epiphanius,  Jerome — seventeen  witnesses, 
iive  of  them  not  cited  before. 

To  the  Gospel  of  Mark  individually,  Papias,  Justin 
Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Athenagoras,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Tertullian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Epiphanius,  Jerome — ten 
witnesses. 

To  the  Gospel  of  Luke  individually,  Justin  Martyr, 
the  Church  of  Vienne  and  Lyons  in  France,  Irenaeus, 
Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, Tertullian,  Julius  Africanus,  Origen,  Eusebius, 
Epiphanius,  Jerome — thirteen  witnesses,  one  not  cited 
before. 

To  the  Gospel  of  John  individually,  Barnabas,  Her- 
mas,  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius,  Justin  Martyr,  Church 
of  Yienne  and  Lyons,  Irenaeus,  Polycrates,  Tatian, 
Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Ter- 
tullian, Origen,  Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius, 
Dorotheus,  Victorinus,  Epiphanius,  Jerome — twenty 
witnesses,  four  not  previously  cited. 

Witnesses  to  the  book  of  Acts,  Barnabas,  Clement 
of  Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Papias,  Dionysius  of 
Corinth,  Justin  Martyr,  Church  of  Vienne  and  Lyons, 
Irenaeus,  Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Tertullian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Jerome — fifteen  witnesses, 
and  one  which  has  not  been  cited  before. 

Beside  these  witnesses,  who  all  belonged  to  the 
(Christian  church,  we  have  some  valuable  testimony 
which  is  anonymous,  as  that  of  the  Epistle  to  Diogne- 
tus ;  and  also  other  very  important  testimony,  all  cor- 
roborating the  witnesses  belonging  to  the  church,  from 
heretics  and  pagans  and  Jews. 


158  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Before  proceeding  any  further,  let  the  reader  now 
turn  to  the  biographical  chapter  (chapter  fourth)  and 
judge  for  himself  whether  any  ancient  books  whatever 
have  anything  like  the  amount  of  unexceptionable  tes- 
timony in  their  favor  which  we  here  adduce  in  favor 
of  the  historical  books  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  the 
other  books  will  be  found  equally  well  sustained  when 
we  come  to  discuss  them. 

It  is  sometimes  objected  that  these  witnesses  simply 
copy  from  one  another,  and  that  accordingly  the  testi- 
mony of  ten  or  a  dozen  is  no  more  than  the  testimony 
of  one  or  two.  To  this  we  answer,  first,  that  the  state- 
ment is  a  mere  assumption  of  the  objector  without  any 
positive  evidence  in  its  favor  whatever.  The  objec- 
tion, as  used  in  this  discussion,  is  wholly  the  offspring 
of  the  imagination  and  has  no  historical  basis  to  rest 
upon.  Moreover,  the  objection  is  in  itself  altogether 
improbable.  But  very  few  out  of  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  witnesses  have  come  down  to  our  time.  The 
others  have  been  buried  under  the  ruins  of  past  ages. 
To  assume,  then,  that  the  witnesses  which  still  survive 
of  the  second  and  third,  and  subsequent  ages  of  the 
church,  were  taught  exclusively  by  those  few  who  still 
survive  to  our  time  of  the  first  age  of  the  church,  and 
not  by  any  of  those  who  have  now  passed  into  ob- 
livion, is  to  assume  that  which  is  on  the  very  face  of 
it  an  entire  absurdity.  The  wiincsses  which  we  cite 
from  each  of  the  primitive  ages  of  the  church  had  the 
use  of  all  the  witnesses  who  had  preceded  them,  and 
who  are  now  unknown. 

That  we  do  not  overstate  the  number  of  witnesses 
is  evident  from  the  pagan  writers  themselves.     Tacitus 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    N.    TEST.      159 

(Annal.  xv.  44)  says  that  the  Christians  in  Rome,  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Nero,  and  the  life  time  of  the  apos- 
tles, A.  D.  64,  were  already  a  "  vast  multitude  "  ;  Pliny, 
of  the  next  generation,  A.  D.  112,  in  his  letter  to  Tra- 
jan, gives  a  similar  account  of  their  great  numbers  in 
the  remote  province  of  Bithynia ;  while  the  Christian 
writers  Irenaeus  (Adv.  Haer.  i.  10)  and  Tertullian 
(Adv.  Jud.  c.  7)  from  A.  D.  150  to  180  represent 
their  believing  brethren  as  thickly  scattered  over  the 
whole  known  world,  both  civilized  and  barbarian. 
At  the  very  time  of  the  composition  of  the  Christian 
Scriptures,  or  within  one  generation  thereafter,  there 
were  Christian  churches  in  every  part  of  the  world ; 
and  every  church  had  its  elders,  (Titus  i.  5)  educated 
for  their  work,  and  fully  competent  to  form  a  correct 
judgment  in  regard  to  their  sacred  books. 

The  witnesses  of  each  of  the  primitive  ages  took 
the  best  matured  results  of  their  OAvn  time,  and  their 
matured  results  were  drawn  from  hundreds  of  original 
and  credible  witnesses  then  well  known,  but  since  lost, 
as  well  as  from  the  very  few  who  yet  survive.  None 
of  them  depended  exclusively  on  the  dozen  or  twenty 
which  we  have,  and  who  have  outlived  the  ruins  of 
the  past. 

All  human  testimony,  even  the  best,  is  liable  to 
error,  and  some  witnesses  are  much  more  worthy  of 
credit  than  others.  We  do  not  require  that  the  testi- 
mony of  every  or  any  witness  be  received  as  infallible, 
nor  that  there  should  be  no  discrimination  among  the 
witnesses.  We  ask  only  that  this  testimony  be  treated 
just  like  all  other  human  testimony ;  and  be  received 
as  substantially  correct,  unless  there  be  sufficient  cir 


160  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

cumstantial  or  other  evidence  to  contradict  it,  or  unless 
the  character  of  the  witness  himself  be  proved  to  be 
justly  liable  to  suspicion.  Let  it  be  fully  understood 
that  we  do  not  profess  in  any  case  to  cite  all  the  wit- 
nesses who  are  still  extant ;  but  only  those  whose  tes- 
timony is  the  most  full  and  the  most  easily  accessible. 
With  these  preliminary  remarks  on  the  nature  and  ex- 
tent of  the  evidence  given,  we  proceed  to  the  discus- 
sion of  each  one  of  the  individual  books  of  the  New 
Testament,  beginning,  as  a  matter  of  course,  with  the 
historical  books  in  their  usual  order. 


CHAPTER    SIXTH. 

THE  FOUR  GOSPELS  SEPARATELY  EXAMINED. 
MATTHEW. 

Matthew  was  a  Galilean  Jew,  and  held  tlie  office 
of  a  receiver  of  customs  under  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, at  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  near  Capernaum  (Matt, 
ix.  9).  By  Mark  he  is  called  Levi,  son  of  Alpheus 
(Mark  ii.  14).  When  a  Jew  became  a  Roman  citizen 
he  generally  assumed  a  Roman  name ;  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  Levi  was  the  original  Hebrew,  and  Matthew 
the  assumed  Roman  name  of  this  evangelist.  He  left 
his  business  at  the  call  of  Christ,  and  became  his  per- 
manent attendant  and  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  a 
short  time  before  the  delivery  of  the  sermon  on  the 
mount  (Luke  v.  27).  In  enumerating  the  apostles  he 
calls  himself  Matthew  the  publican  (Matt.  x.  9)  or 
customhouse  officer,  a  name  exceedingly  odious  to  the 
oppressed  Jews. 

The  nature  of  the  publican's  office,  and  the  injus- 
tice and  oppression  which  these  officers  generally  prac- 
tised, were  enough  to  excite  odium  in  a  nation  less  sen- 
sitive than  the  Jewish.  When  the  Romans  subjugated 
the  Jews,  they  treated  them  as  they  did  other  con- 
quered nations,  that  is,  they  required  of  every  man, 
in  addition  to  various  taxes,  the  payment  of  an  annual 
tribute,  as  a  token  of  his  subjection  and  for  the  support 
11 


162  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  dignity  of  the  Roman   empire.     This  tribute 
was  extremely  hateful  to  the  Jews,  who  boasted  that 
they  had  no  sovereign  but  God,  that  they  were  Abra- 
ham's seed,  and  were  not  in  bondage  to   any   man. 
But  oppressive  as  this  tax  was  in  itself,  it  often  became 
still  more  so  by  the  manner  in  which  it  was  collected. 
It    was    customary    for    the    government   to    expose 
the  taxes  of  a  province  to  sale,  and  he  who  would 
offer   the   most   for  them  had  the   privilege  of  col- 
lecting ;  and  all  that  he  could  obtain  above  the  amount 
paid    to   the   government,    went   to    enrich    himself 
Those  who  had  thus  taken  the  taxes  of  a  whole  pro- 
vince, would  divide  the  province  into  districts,  and 
expose  them  to  sale  in  the  same  manner ;  and  often 
the  district  would  be  subdivided  and  sold  again ;  so 
that  sometimes  three   or  four  different  sets  of  extor- 
tioners were  to  be  enriched  out  of  the  surplus  tribute 
money  of  the  people,  above  that  which  went  into  the 
public  treasury.     As  the  right  of  collecting  was  fre- 
quently sold  from  one  to  another  at  an  increasing  price, 
it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  publican  to  extort  as 
much  as  possible ;  and  as  the  general  government  par- 
ticipated with  the  publicans  in  their  plunder,  it  was 
for  their  interest  to  listen  to  no  complaint  against  the 
collectors  of  their  revenue.     There  was  scarcely  a  pos- 
sibility of  redress  in  case  of  wrong ;  and  if  one  refused 
to  submit  to  injustice,  frequently  by  false  accusation  he 
was  robbed  of  his  whole  property  (compare  Luke  iii. 
12-14;  xix.  1-10).     It  is  no  wonder  then,  that  the 
very  name  of  publican  became  odious,  and  synony- 
mous with  that  of  sinner ;  though  doubtless  there  were 
some  who  performed  the  duties  of  this  office  in  an 
honorable  and. conscientious  manner. 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  163 

It  is  the  unanimous  testimony  of  tlie  ancients,  tliat 
Matthew  wrote  his  Gospel  for  the  use  of  the  Jewish 
Christians  of  Palestine ;  and  this  testimony  is  confirmed 
by  internal  evidence.  The  writer  everywhere  takes 
it  for  granted,  that  his  readers  are  well  acquainted 
with  the  geography  of  Palestine ;  and  he  does  not 
consider  it  necessary  to  explain  any  of  the  Jewish 
customs  to  which  he  alludes.  The  considerations, 
which  he  adduces  to  prove  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus, 
are  such  as  would  have  most  weight  with  Jews.  He 
traces  the  genealogy  of  Christ  from  his  reputed  father 
through  David  to  Abraham ;  and  takes  particular  pains 
to  show  how  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  T'^stament  were 
fulfilled  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Compare  i.  23  ;  ii.  6, 
15,  18;  iii.  3;  iv.  14;  viii.  17;  xii.  17;  xiii.  35;  xxi. 
4 ;  xxvi.  56 ;  xxvii.  9.  Indeed  it  is  the  leading  object 
of  his  Gospel  to  prove  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  spoken 
of  by  the  prophets,  an  argument  which  at  that  time 
Jews  only  could  appreciate. 

The  testimony  is  just  as  unanimous  and  unequivocal 
that  Matthew  originally  wrote  his  Gospel  in  Hebrew 
as  it  is  that  he  wrote  a  Gospel  at  all.  This  will  be 
seen  in  the  citations  of  witnesses  which  we  shall  soon 
give.  And  if  he  wrote  for  the  use  of  the  Hebrews  in 
Palestine  previous  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as 
all  agree,  there  was  an  absolute  necessity  that  lie 
should  write  in  Hebrew.  By  Hebrew  is  here  meant  the 
Syro-Chaldaic  or  Aramaen  dialect  spoken  at  that  time 
by  the  Jews  in  their  own  land.  This  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament is  called  Hebrew  (Acts  xxi.  40 ;  xxii.  2),  and 
though  not  the  pure  ancient  Hebrew,  it  is  as  much  like 
it  as  the  English  of  the  present  day  is  like  the  Englislj 


164  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  Reformation  period.  It  is  the  language  in 
which  Christ  usually  conversed  while  on  earth,  as  is 
seen  from  such  passages  as  Mark  v.  41 ;  vii.  34 ;  xv. 
24 ;  Matt,  xxvii.  46.  The  Jews  tenaciously  held  on 
to  this  their  national  tongue,  using  Greek  only  from 
absolute  necessity ;  and  Paul  greatly  conciliated  a  Je- 
rusalem mob  simply  by  addressing  them  in  their  native 
Hebrew  (Acts  xxi.  40 ;  xxii.  2).  When  Paul  on  this 
occasion  asked  permission  of  the  chief  captain  to  ad- 
dress the  multitude,  that  officer  expressed  his  surprise 
that  he  found  the  apostle  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
Greek  language  (Acts  xxi.  37,  38).  Josephus  was  a 
Jew  of  high  rank,  born  about  the  time  when  Matthew 
first  wrote  his  Gospel,  and  received  the  best  education 
which  Palestine  could  then  give  to  her  most  favored 
sons,  and  he  gives  the  following  most  explicit  testimo- 
ny on  this  point.  Antiq.  XX.  xi.  2.  "I  have  taken 
great  pains  to  acquire  the  Greek  learning,  and  to  un- 
derstand the  elements  of  the  Greek  language,  though 
I  have  so  long  accustomed  myself  to  speak  our  own 
tongue,  that  I  can  not  pronounce  Greek  with  sufficient 
exactness;  for  our  nation  does  not  encourage  those 
that  learn  the  languages  of  many  nations."  Again  in 
his  preface  to  the  same  work,  sec.  2,  he  says  "it  is  a 
difficult  thing  to  translate  our  history  (the  Jewish) 
into  a  foreign  and  to  us  unaccustomed  language  "  (the 
Greek). 

This  being  the  case,  (and  who  can  contradict  the 
testimony  of  Josephus  on  such  a  point?)  if  Matthew 
cherished  any  expectation  of  being  read  by  his  own 
countrymen,  he  must  have  addressed  them  in  their  own 
language. 

How  happens  it  then  that  there  has  been  preserved 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  165 

ill  the  church  a  Greek  Gospel  of  Matthew  and  no  He- 
brew one  ?  The  ancients  assign  two  dates  to  the  com- 
position of  Matthew's  Gospel,  one  from  A.  B.  .40 
to  45,  the  other  from  the  year  60  to  65.  The  infer- 
ence is  quite  obvious  that  he  wrote  his  Gospel  twice, 
and  the  reason  for  this  is  very  plain.  After  the  over- 
throw of  Jerusalem  the  Jews  were  dispersed  and 
ceased  to  speak  their  own  language,  and  the  Greek 
became  their  usual  tongue,  as  Hebrew  had  been  before. 
Matthew,  then,  foreseeing  this  exigency,  as  the  time 
drew  near,  prepared  for  them  his  Greek  Gospel,  and 
there  being  no  further  use  for  the  Hebrew  one  it  grad- 
ually disappeared  ;  though  Jerome  affirms  that  he  had 
not  only  seen  it,  in  the  famous  library  of  Pamphilus  at 
Csesarea,  but  actually  himself  translated  it  into  Greek 
and  Latin. 

Among  the  manuscripts  brought  to  the  British  Mu- 
seum in  1842,  there  is  a  very  ancient  Syrian  Matthew, 
which  Dr.  Cureton  has  published,  and  which  he  sup- 
poses, not  without  some  reason,  to  be  the  original 
Hebrew  Matthew.  It  differs  from  our  Greek  Matthew 
only  in  phraseology  here  and  there.  The  following  is 
a  specimen  of  the  variations ; 

Greek.  Syrian. 

i.  20,  He  shall  save  his  peo-  He  shall  save  the  world 

pie  from  their  sins.  from  its  sins. 

i.  23,  God  with  us.  Our  God  with  us. 

i.  25,  knew  her  not.  dwelt  with  her  in  purity, 

vii.  5,  hypocrite.  accepter  of  persons. 

XV.  22,  grievously  demon-  badly    conducted    by    a 

ized.  devil's  hand, 

xvi.  19,  the   keys   of   the  the  keys  of  the  gates  of 

kingdom.  the  kingdom. 


166  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Our  present  Greek  is  no  translation,  but  an  original 
from  Matthew's  own  hand ;  and  we  have  the  evidence 
entirely  satisfactory  of  a  Hebrew  Gospel  of  his,  writ- 
ten some  twenty  years  earlier,  and  indispensible  to  Mat- 
thew's purpose  of  introducing  the  life  of  Christ  to  his 
own  countrymen.  The  Hebrew  Gospel,  as  we  are  in- 
formed by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  v.  10),  was  found  among 
the  Christians  in  India  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second 
century,  by  Pantaenus,  the  missionary  and  philosopher, 
who  afterwards  with  so  much  celebrity  presided  over 
the  catechetic  school  at  Alexandria.  He  testifies  that 
the  book  was  carried  thither  by  the  apostle  Bartholo- 
mew, who  first  preached  the  Gospel  in  those  regions. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  antiquity,  which  there 
is  no  ground  for  contradicting,  the  Hebrew  Matthew 
was  the  first  of  the  four  Gospels  that  was  written. 
Eusebius  says  that  after  our  Lord's  ascension  Matthew 
preached  in  Judea,  (for  fifteen  years,  adds  Clement  of 
Alexandria,)  and  then  went  to  foreign  nations.  He 
is  said  to  have  visited  Ethiopia,  Persia  and  Parthia, 
and  to  have  died  a  martyr's  death. 

Matthew  may  be  styled  a  plain,  matter  of  fact  writer ; 
and  the  habits  of  his  mind  are  evidently  those  of  a 
man  of  business  rather  than  study.  He  exhibits  Christ 
mostly  in  his  earthly  character  and  relations ;  as  a  law- 
giver, promulgating  the  new  dispensation  from  the 
mount,  as  Moses  did  the  old  from  Sinai ;  as  a  worker 
of  miracles  and  a  teacher.  Because  he  thus  treated 
of  Christ  in  his  earthly  employments  and  human  char- 
acter, his  Gospel  was  by  the  ancients  called  ccojuauxov 
(somatikon)  or  the  bodily  Gospel. 

He  is  very  brief  in  narrative,  disregarding  almost 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  167 

entirely  the  order  of  time,  but  particular  in  his  reports 
of  the  discourses  and  parables  of  our  Lord,  and  gen- 
erally he  gives  only  just  enough  of  the  narrative  to 
introduce  the  discourse.  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in 
some  others,  his  Gospel  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  work  of  Xenophon  alluded  to  above. 

Indeed,  there  is  the  same  sort  of  difference  between 
the  accounts  of  Jesus  Christ  as  given  by  Matthew  and 
John,  that  we  find  between  the  accounts  of  Socrates 
as  given  by  Xenophon  and  Plato. 

TESTIMONIES    TO    MATTHEW. 

In  all  cases,  in  examining  the  testimonies  cited,  the 
reader  is  requested  to  turn  to  the  name  of  each  wit- 
ness, in  chap,  fourth,  and  ascertain  his  qualifications  to 
give  testimony,  as  there  stated.  It  is  also  to  be  noted 
that  much  of  this  testimony  is  given  incidentally,  and  is 
all  the  more  valuable  on  that  account ;  that  is,  it  is  not 
expressly  stated  al\tays  that  such  an  author  wrote  such 
a  book,  but  there  is  a  quotation  from  the  book,  or  an 
allusion  to  some  statement  in  it,  which  shows  that  the 
witness  read  the  same  book  in  the  same  way  that  we 
now  read  it,  and  assigned  it  to  the  same  author.  It  is 
further  to  be  observed  that  the  ancients  quote  the  New 
Testament  very  much  as  the  New  Testament  writers 
quote  the  Old  Testament,  seldom  with  literal  exactness, 
quite  freely,  often  giving  the  sense  only  without  regard 
to  the  exact  words,  as  though  they  quoted  from  mem- 
ory simply,  as  doubtless  they  often  did. 

The  most  important  witnesses  for  Matthew  are  Pa- 
pias,  Ignatius,  Justin  Martyr,  Hegesippus,  Letter  to 
Diognetus,   Irenaeus,   Tatian,  Pantaenus,   Clement  of 


168  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Alexandria,  Tertiillian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Cyrill  of  Je- 
rusalem, Epiphanius,  Jerome,  Julius  Africanus. 

As  introductory  to  the  quotations  which  will  be 
made  from  the  ancient  witnesses  in  behalf  of  the  Gos- 
pels, we  commend  to  the  reader's  attention  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  from  Dean  Stanley : 

"  Irenaeus  and  TertuUian  were  two  writers  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  second  century ;  the  former  had  spent 
his  youth  among  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  and  had 
migrated  among  the  Christians  of  Gaul ;  the  latter  was 
a  presbyter  in  the  Latin  church  of  North  Africa.  Both 
were  strong  traditionists ;  and  both  distinctly  appeal 
to  the  four  canonical  Gospels  by  name.  But  would 
churches  so  widely  remote  as  those  of  Smyrna,  Car- 
thage, and  Lyons,  with  one  accord  receive  as  Scripture 
four  books  which  were  only  a  few  years  old  ?  And 
besides,  Irenaeus  had  been  in  his  youth  a  companion 
of  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St.  John.  Is  it  credible 
that  St.  John's  Gospel  could  have  been  received  by 
him  if  it  had  been  never  heard  of  till  A.  D.  150? 
Moreover,  about  A.  D.  150,  Celsus  quotes  both  the 
synoptical  Gospels  and  St.  John,  and  says,  'all  this  I 
have  taken  out  of  your  own  Scriptures.'  About  the 
same  date,  Theophilus  and  Tatian  both  constructed  a 
Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels ;  and  ten  years  earlier 
still,  Justin  Martyr  speaks  of  Gospels  written  by  the 
apostles  and  their  companions ;  meaning,  there  can 
surely  be  little  question,  the  four  as  we  now  have  them. 
Twenty  years  before  that,  Polycarp  uses  St.  Matthew, 
and  quotes  the  first  Epistle  of  St.  John,  which  is  allowed 
on  all  hands  to  be  (under  any  supposition)  by  the  same 
author  as  the  Gospel.     And  about  the  same  period, 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  169 

Papias,  a  bishop  in  Asia  Minor,  who  tells  us  he  took 
particular  pains  to  collect  oral  information  from  survi- 
vors who  had  known  the  apostles,  describes  how  Mat- 
thew wrote  originally  in  Hebrew,  and  how  Mark  drew 
his  materials  from  St.  Peter.     The  passage  is  but  a 
fragment  preserved  in  Eusebius,  so  that  no  sound  argu- 
ment against  St.  John  can  be  drawn  e  silentio^  any 
more  than  against  St.  Paul  or  St.  Luke.     Thus  we  are 
brought  down  to  about  A.  D.  100,  without  a  trace  of 
any  conciliar  action,  or  of  any  controversy  on  the  sub- 
ject which  can  not  easily  be  explained.     The  church 
emerges  from  the  first  century  with  the   sacred  book 
of  the  four  Gospels  in  her  hand.     The  very  earliest 
apocryphal  Gospels  only  attempt  to  fill  up  the  blanks 
in  their  narrative,  and  never  give  a  competing  account. 
The  most  ancient  of  all  was  held  by  Jerome,  who 
translated  it,  to  be  the  Hebrew  original  of  St.  Mat- 
thew.    The  Montanists,  in  their  wildest  hatred  of  St. 
John's  Gospel,  could  only  attribute  it  to  his  contempo- 
rary Cerinthus.     And  every  recent  discovery,  such  as 
the  missing  end  of  the  Clementine  Homilies  (contain- 
ing a  quotation  from  St.  John),  and  the  original  Greek 
of  Barnabas  (giving  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  the  honora- 
ble title  of  '  Scripture  '),  only  tends  to  corroborate  the 
proof,  that  we  have  in  the  four  Gosp-els  the  primitive 
records  of  Christianity,  and  a  trustworthy  means  for 
understanding  what  the  mind  and  the  preaching  of  the 
apostles  really  were."* 

We  subjoin  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of  testimony 
which  the  ancient  witnesses  give  in  respect  to  Matthew : 

*Thi3   argument  is  well  drawn   out  in  Tischendorfs  pamphlet, 
"  Wann  wurden  unsere  Evangelien  verfasst  .'* " 


170  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Papias :  "Matthew  set  forth  his  oracles  in  the  He- 
brew dialect,  which  every  one  interpreted  as  he  was 
able."    Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  iii.  39. 

Irenaeus :  "  Matthew  put  forth  the  writing  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Hebrews  in  their  dialect."  Adv. 
Haer,  iii. ;  Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  v.  8. 

Jerome:  "Matthew,  first  in  Judea,  on  account  of 
those  from  the  circumcision  who  believed,  composed 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  Hebrew  letters  and  words." 
Catal.  c.  4.  "  Matthew  published  a  Gospel  in  Judea 
in  the  Hebrew  language."   Proleg.  in  Matth. 

Eusehius:  "Matthew,  having  first  proclaimed  his 
Gospel  to  the  Hebrews  ....  committed  it  to  writing 
in  his  native  tongue."  Ecc.  Hist.  iii.  23. 

Epiplianius :  "  They  indeed  (the  Ebionites)  receive 
the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew ;  for  this  both  they 
use  and  also  the  Cerinthians.  They  call  it  indeed  the 
Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews ;  as  it  is  true  to  say, 
that  Matthew  alone  in  the  New  Testament  made  the 
declaration  and  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  Hebrew 
and  with  Hebrew  letters."  Haeres.  xxx.  3. 

Clement  of  Alexandria :  "  Matthew  having  first  pro- 
claimed the  Gospel  in  Hebrew,  when  on  the  point  of 
going  also  to  other  nations,  committed  it  to  writing  in 
his  native  tongue."  Euseb.  E.  H.  iii.  24. 

Origen:  "  The  first  (Gospel)  is  written  according  to 
Matthew,  the  same  that  was  once  a  publican  but  after- 
wards an  apostle  of  Christ,  who  having  published  it 
for  the  Jewish  converts,  wrote  it  in  the  Hebrew." 
Euseb.  E.  H.  vi.  25. 

Ignatius:  "How  then  was  he  manifested  to  the 
ages  ?     A  star  shone  in  heaven,  in  splendor  excelling 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  171 

all  the  other  stars,  and  its  brightness  was  ineffable,  and 
the  strangeness  of  it  inspired  terror."  Matth,  ii. ; 
Ephes.  xix. 

Barnabas  already  m  his  time  quotes  Matthew  as 
Scripture,  Epist.  chap.  iv.  "  As  it  is  written  many  are 
called  but  few  chosen."  Matth.  xx.  16;  xxii.  14. 
Again,  chap.  v.  "  He  did  not  come  to  call  the  right- 
eous but  sinners  to  repentance."     Matth.  ix.  13. 

Justin  Martyr:  "The  discourses  of  Christ  were 
brief  and  compendious,  for  he  was  no  sophist,  but  his 
word  was  the  power  of  God.  Concerning  chastity  he 
said  this :  Whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in 
his  heart  before  God.  Also,  If  thy  right  eye  offend 
thee,  cut  it  out,  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  with  one 
eye  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  rather  than 
with  two  eyes  to  be  sent  into  eternal  fire.  Also,  He 
who  marries  a  woman  repudiated  by  another  man  com- 
mits adultery.  Also,  There  are  some  who  are  made 
eunuchs  by  man,  and  there  are  some  who  are  born 
eunuchs,  and  some  who  make  themselves  eunuchs  for 
the  kingdom  of  heavens's  sake ;  but  not  all  receive 
this."  See  Matth.  v.  28,  29,  32 ;  xviii.  9 ;  xix.  11,  12. 
Apol.  i.  p.  21. 

"  Christ  called  not  the  just  and  the  chaste  to  repent- 
ance, but  the  impious,  the  incontinent  and  the  unjust, 
for  thus  he  said,  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but 
sinners  to  repentance."     Matth.  ix.  13.  Apol.  i.  p.  22. 

"He  cured  all  sickness  and  all  disease."  Matth.  iv. 
23.     Apol.  i.  p.  50. 

"  At  that  time  some  coming  to  him  asked  him  if  it 
were  proper  to  pay  tribute  to  Caesar,  and  he  answered, 


172  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Tell  me,  whose  image  hath  the  coin  ?  and  they  say 
Caesar's ;  and  again  he  answered  them,  render  there- 
fore to  Cgesar  the  things  that  be  Cossar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  that  are  God's."  Matth.  xxii.  15-21.  Apol.  i. 
p.  26. 

"He  (John)  seated  by  the  river  Jordan  cried,  I  indeed 
baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance,  but  there  will 
come  one  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  wor- 
thy to  bear,  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  with  fire,  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will 
thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and  his  wheat  he  will 
gather  into  his  garner,  but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff 
with  unquenchable  fire."  Matth.  iii.  11,  12.  Dialogue 
with  Trypho  p.  268-9. 

In  the  few  works  of  Justin  which  remain  to  us  there 
are  from  50  to  75  quotations  of  this  kind  from  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew. 

E^nstle  to  Diognetus :  "  Christ  taught  that  we  should 
not  be  anxious  (take  no  thought)  about  food  and  rai- 
ment."    Matth.  vi.  25. 

Tatian :  "  The  Saviour  said  it  is  not  proper  to  lay 
up  treasure  on  earth  whete  moth  and  rust  corrupteth." 
Matth.  vi.  19.     Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  iii.  p.  463. 

Athenagoras ;  "  I  say  to  you  love  your  enemies,  bless 
them  that  curse  you,  pray  for  them  that  persecute  you, 
that  you  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  who  is 
in  heaven,  who  causeth  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and 
on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the 
unjust."     Matth.  v.  44,  45.     Legat.  p.  11. 

TheopMlus :  "Thus  he  teaches  those  that  do  good 
not  to  boast,  that  they  be  not  pleascrs  of  men.  Let 
not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth." 
Matth.  vi.  4.     Autol.  p.  126. 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  173 

Pantaenus :  "To  whom  (the  inhabitants  of  India) 
Bartholomew,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles,  preached, 
and  left  them  the  writings  of  Matthew  in  Hebrew  let- 
ters, which  is  preserved  to  this  day."  Euseb.  E.  H. 
V.  10. 

Glemeyit  of  Alexandria :  "  But  in  the  Gospel  accord- 
ing to  Matthew  the  genealogy  which  begins  with  Abra- 
ham terminates  with  Mary  the  mother  of  the  Lord, 
For  there  are,  he  says,  from  Abraham  to  David,  four- 
teen generations,  and  from  David  to  the  carrying  away 
into  Babylon,  fourteen  generations,  and  from  the  car- 
rying away  into  Babylon  until  Christ,  there  are  like- 
wise fourteen  other  generations."  Matth.  i.  17  Strom. 
i.  p.  341. 

Tertullian:  "In  the  outset  Matthew  himself,  that 
most  faithful  reporter  of  the  Gospel,  as  companion  of 
the  Lord,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  he  might  make 
us  acquainted  with  the  carnal  origin  of  Christ,  thus 
begins,  The  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham.  De  Carne 
Christi,  c.  22. 

"Matthew,  bringing  the  origin  of  the  Lord  from 
Abraham  to  Mary,  says,  Jacob  begat  Joseph  the  hus- 
band of  Mary,  from  whom  Christ  was  born."  id.  c.  20. 

The  genuineness  of  the  first  two  chapters  of  Mat- 
thew has  by  some  been  called  in  question,  but  un- 
doubtedly on  doctrinal  grounds,  solely  for  the  sake  of 
getting  rid  of  the  narrative  of  the  miraculous  birth  of 
Christ,  and  not  for  any  historical  reason  whatever. 
The  earliest  testimony,  as  given  above,  is  just  as  clear 
and  positive  to  these  two  chapters  as  to  any  other  part 
of  the  book,  and  the  most  critical  examination  of  the 


174  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

language  and  style  has  failed  to  produce  any  result 
unfavorable  to  the  authorship  of  Matthew.  See  above, 
Ignatius,  Irenaeus,  TertuUian,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Epiphanius,  Julius  Africanus,  and  others. 

Irenaeus :  "  But  again  Matthew  speaking  concerning 
the  angel,  says,  The  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Joseph  in  a  dream.  Of  what  Lord  he  himself  inter- 
prets :  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of 
the  Lord  by  the  prophet.  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called 
my  son.  Therefore  a  virgin  shall  conceive  in  the 
womb  and  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shall  call  his 
name  Jesus,  which  is  interpreted,  God  with  us."  Adv. 
Haer.  iii.  9. 

Ci/ril  of  Jerusalem :  "  Matthew  writing  a  Gospel 
wrote  it  in  the  Hebrew  tongue."     Catech.  xiv. 

Epiphanius :  "  Wherefore  indeed  this  Matthew  also 
writes  the  Gospel  in  Hebrew  letters  and  preaches,  and 
begins  not  at  the  beginning,  but  derives  the  genealogy 
indeed  from  Abraham."     Matth.  i.  1,  2.     Haeres.  li. 

Jerome :  "  Concerning  the  New  Testament  I  now 
speak,  that  doubtless  it  is  Greek,  the  apostle  Matthew 
being  excepted,  who  first  in  Judea  gave  out  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ  in  Hebrew  letters."  Praefat  in  iv.  Evang. 
ad  Dam. 

Julius  Africanus.  This  writer  gives  an  elaborate 
statement  of  the  different  genealogies  of  Christ  as  they 
stand  in  Matthew  and  Luke,  and  proposes  an  ingenious 
method  of  reconciling  them.  It  is  perfectly  certain 
that  he  used  the  same  first  chapter  of  Matthew  which 
is  found  in  our  own  Greek  Testaments. 

Here  are  a  very  few  of  the  testimonies  which  we 
have  in  the  earliest  ages  to  the  existence  of  Matthew's 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  175 

Gospel,  and  as  we  now  have  it.  We  give  less  than  a 
tithe  of  what  might  be  adduced  even  from  the  scanty 
remains,  which  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time,  of 
the  primitive  Christian  literature.  But  the  evidence, 
even  from  this  source,  that  there  was  from  the  first  a 
Gospel  of  Matthew,  and  that  this  Gospel,  whether  He- 
brew or  Greek,  in  fact  both,  was  the  same  Gospel 
which  we  now  have  under  Matthew's  name,  is  beyond 
controversy. 

GOSPEL   OF    MARK. 

Mark  was  the  son  of  a  pious  woman  in  Jerusalem, 
and  the  intimate  friend  of  the  apostle  Peter  (Acts  xii. 
12 ;  1  Pet.  V.  13).  He  was  also  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  Paul  (Acts  xii.  25  ;  xiii.  5),  till  some  neg- 
lect of  his,  which  occasioned  a  misunderstanding  be- 
tween Paul  and  Barnabas  respecting  him,  produced  a 
separation  (Acts.  xv.  36-41).  Paul  afterwards  became 
reconciled  to  him,  perhaps  when  he  met  him  at  Rome 
in  company  with  Peter,  and  speaks  of  him  in  several 
of  his  epistles  with  great  confidence  and  afiection 
(Col.  iv.  10;  2  Tim.  iv.  11;  Philemon  24). 

According  to  the  almost  unanimous  testimony  of 
antiquity,  his  Gospel  was  written  at  Rome,  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  apostle  Peter,  a  little  after  that 
of  Matthew,  and  it  was  intended  for  the  instruction  of 
the  Roman  converts  from  paganism.  To  this,  internal 
evidence  corresponds. 

He  has  many  pure  Latin  words  written  in  Greek  let- 
ters, where  the  other  evangelists  use  the  appropriate 
Greek  words. 

For  example  xevxvqiav  (henturion)  the  Latin  centurio 
instead  of  the  Greek  Uajovxaqxri?  (Jiehatontarclies)  cen- 
turion^ XV.  39,  45,  35.     Compare  also  xii.  42. 


176  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Again,  ansxovXuniQ  the  Latin  speculator^  executioner* 
vi.  27. 

The  Latin  phrases  ecrxaiMg  iyii,   (escliatos  echei^  and 

TO  Ixavbv  noiiiaui  to  ikailOll  pOieSttl^  V.   23;    XV.   15. 

The  above  purely  Latin  words  and  phrases,  instead 
of  the  corresponding  Greek,  are  used  by  Mark  and 
Mark  only  of  all  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament. 

But  why  if  he  wrote  for  the  Romans,  did  he  not 
write  in  Latin  instead  of  Greek  ? 

It  is  evident  from  the  statements  of  Tacitus,  Martial, 
Juvenal,  and  the  very  inscriptions  on  the  Roman  tomb- 
stones, that  Greek  was  generally  understood  and  used 
at  Rome  during  this  period,  and  probably  the  children 
universally,  when  taught  to  read  at  all,  were  taught 
to  read  Greek.  The  emperors  themselves,  as  Marcus 
Antoninus,  when  they  became  authors,  wrote  in  Greek. 
Classic  authors  residing  at  Rome,  and  writing  to  Ro- 
mans, as  Epictetus,  Plutarch,  Polybius,  Josephus,  wrote 
in  Greek.  Justin  Martyr,  residing  at  Rome  and  ad- 
dressing his  two  apologies  to  the  Roman  emperors, 
wrote  them  both  in  Greek.  So  of  the  Christian  wri- 
ters generally.  Irenaeus,  Clement  of  Rome,  Hennas, 
and  others,  living  in  the  Latin  empire  and  writing  for 
Latins  as  well  as  Greeks,  used  the  Greek  tongue  as 
the  dialect  most  generally  accessible  as  the  language 
of  books.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  Mark,  residing 
at  Rome  and  writing  for  Romans,  should  write  in 
Greek,  nor  that  his  composition  should  be  characterized 
by  Latin  words  and  idioms. 

He  carefully  explains  allusions  to  Jewish  customs,  as 
if  writing  for  those  who  were  unacquainted  with  them 
(Mark  vii.  2-4  ;  xv.  6).     He  is  much  more  brief  than 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.'  177 

tlie  other  evangelists,  and  has  but  twenty-four  verses 
the  substance  of  which  is  not  found  in  Matthew  and 
Luke.  Unlike  Matthew  he  is  very  particular  in  narra- 
tive, and  very  much  condenses  the  conversations  and 
discourses  of  Jesus. 

There  is  no  proof  that  he  had  ever  seen  the  Gospel 
of  Matthew  before  writing  his  own ;  much  less  that 
his  own  is  an  abridgment  of  Matthew's,  as  some  have 
supposed.  The  contrary  is  shown  from  the  fact,  that 
he  is  in  not  a  few  instances  much  more  particular  in 
his  narrative  than  Matthew.  (Compare  Mark  v.  1  with 
Matt.  viii.  28;  Markix.  14  with  Matt.  xvii.  12-14;  and 
Mark  xiv.  66,  67  with  Matt.  xxvi.  69). 

It  is  the  uncontradicted  testimony  of  antiquity,  which 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  that  Mark  spent  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  as  pastor  of 
the  churches  there ;  and  it  is  evident  from  1  Peter  v. 
13,  that  he  had  been  with  the  apostle  Peter  in  Baby- 
lon.    Eusebius,  E.  H.  ii.  15. 

The  witnesses  for  Mark  especially,  are  Papias,  Justin 
Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Athenagoras,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Tertullian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Epiphanius,  Jerome. 

A  specimen  of  their  testimony  we  subjoin. 

TESTIMONIES   TO   MARK. 

Papias:  "And  John  the  Presbyter  said  this:  Mark 

being  the  interpreter  of  Peter,  whatsoever  he  recorded 

he  wrote  with  great  accuracy,  but  not  however  in  the 

order  in  which  it  was  done  or  spoken  by  our  Lord,  for 

he  neither  heard  nor  followed  our  Lord,  but  as  beforo 

said,  he  was  in  company  with  Peter,  who  gave  him 

such  information  as  was  necessary wherefore 

Mark  has  not  erred  in  anythine; but  was  care- 

12  ^       ^ 


178  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

fully  attentive  to  one  thing,  not  to  pass  by  anything 
that  he  heard,  or  to  state  anything  falsely  in  these  ac- 
counts."    Euseb.  E.  H.  iii.  39. 

Irenaeus  not  only  directly  quotes  the  Gospel  of 
Mark ;  but  the  last  verses  of  this  Gospel,  which  have 
been  rejected  by  many  writers,  he  especially  ascribes 
to  the  evangelist  Mark.  Adv.  Haer.  iii.  10,  6.  "Mark 
says  in  the  end  of  his  Gospel  (Mark  xvi.  19),  And  in- 
deed the  Lord  Jesus,  after  he  had  spoken  to  them,  was 
received  up  into  heaven,  and  sat  on  the  right  hand  of 
God." 

Again,  "Mark,  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter, 
transmitted  to  us  in  writing  what  had  been  preached 
by  him."     Euseb.  E.  H.  v.  8. 

Origen:  "The  second  (Gospel)  is  according  to 
Mark,  who  composed  it  as  Peter  explained  it  to  him, 
whom  he  also  acknowledges  as  his  son  in  his  general 
epistle."  etc.     (1  Pet.  v.  13.)     Euseb.  E.  H.  vi.  25. 

Justin  Martyr :  "  In  what  suffering  and  torture  the 
wicked  will  be,  hear  the  words  spoken  in  like  manner 
on  this  point,  for  they  are  these  (Mark  ix.  44,  46,  48), 
their  worm  shall  not  cease  and  their  fire  shall  not  be 
quenched.     Apol.  ii.  p.  87. 

"And  as  also  it  is  requisite  to  worship  God  only,  he 
thus  declared,  saying  (Mark  xii.  30),  the  greatest 
commandment  of  the  law  is,  thou  shalt  worship  the 
Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve,  with  all 
thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  might,  the  Lord  who  cre- 
ated thee."     Apol.  ii.  p.  03. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  both  here  and  elsewhere, 
that  Justin  does  not  quote  book,  chapter  and  verse, 
but  only  the  sense  of  each  passage,  and  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  reader,  I  insert  in  parenthesis  the 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  179 

reference  to  the  text  quoted.  This  is  to  be  noticed  in 
every  instance  of  quotations  from  the  fathers,  for  they 
indeed,  as  has  already  been  shown,  had  no  chapters 
and  verses  to  refer  to. 

Athenagoras :  Mark  x.  11,  "  For  whosoever  shall  put 
away  his  wife,  and  marrieth  another,  committeth  adul- 
tery." 

TertulUan :  "  The  Gospel  which  Mark  published,  is 
affirmed  as. Peter's,  whose  interpreter  Mark  was." 
Adv.  Marcion  iv.  5. 

Epiplianius :  "And  immediately  after  Matthew, 
Mark,  the  companion  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome,  is  directed 
to  put  forth  a  Gospel ;  which  having  written,  he  is 
sent  by  St.  Peter  into  the  country  of  the  Egyptians." 
Haeres.  51. 

Jerome  :  "Mark,  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Pe- 
ter, being  asked  by  the  brethren  at  Rome,  wrote  a  Gos- 
pel in  brief,  according  to  what  he  had  heard  Peter  rela- 
ting ;  and  when  Peter  had  heard  it,  he  approved  of 
it,  and  gave  it  forth  to  be  read  in  the  churches  by  his 
authority,  as  Clement  also  writes  in  the  sixth  book  of 
the  Hypotuposeis."     Catal.  Script,  c.  8. 

Hippolytus :  "Jesus  says  to  all  at  the  same  time, 
concerning  the  gifts  which  shall  be  given  by  him 
through  the  Holy  Spirit  (Mark  xvi.  27),  And  these 
signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe,  in  my  name  they 
shall  cast  out  devils,  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues, 
they  shall  take  up  serpents,  and  if  they  drink  any 
deadly  thing  it  shall  not  hurt  them,  and  they  shall  lay 
hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover."  Concern- 
ing Spiritual  Gifts,  0pp.  p.  545. 

As  observed  before,  and  the  reader  must  remember, 


180  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  author  quoted,  Hippolytus,  does  not  give  the  name 
of  the  book,  nor  the  chapter  and  verse. 

Clement  of  Alexandria :  "  So  greatly  did  the  splen- 
dor of  piety  enlighten  the  minds  of  Peter's  hearers, 
(at  Rome)  that  it  was  not  sufficient  to  hear  but  once, 
nor  to  receive  the  unwritten  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  of 
God ;  but  they  persevered  with  various  entreaties  to 
solicit  Mark,  as  the  companion  of  Peter,  and  whose 
Gospel  we  have,  that  he  should  leave  them  a  monu- 
ment of  the  doctrine  thus  orally  communicated,  in 
writing.  Nor  did  they  cease  their  solicitations  until 
they  had  prevailed  with  the  man,  and  thus  became  the 
means  of  that  writing  which  is  called  the  Gospel 
according  to  Mark.  They  say  also  that  the  apostle 
Peter  having  ascertained  what  was  done  by  the  reve- 
lation of  the  Spirit,  was  delighted  with  the  zealous 
ardor  expressed  by  these  men,  and  that  the  history 
obtained  his  authority  for  the  purpose  of  being  read 
in  the  churches."     Euseb.  E.  H.  ii.  15. 

"  When  Peter  had  proclaimed  the  word  publicly  at 
Rome,  and  declared  the  Gospel  under  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit ;  as  there  was  a  great  number  present, 
they  requested  Mark,  who  had  followed  him  from  afar, 
and  remembered  well  what  he  had  said,  to  reduce  the 
things  to  writing,  and  that  after  composing  his  Gospel, 
he  gave  it  to  them  who  had  requested  it  of  him." 
Euseb.  E.  H.  vi.  14. 

GOSPEL   OF    LUKE. 

Luke  was  a  gentile  by  birth,  and  a  physician  (Col. 
iv.  11,  14),  and  according  to  the  prevailing  testimony 
of  the  ancients,  a  citizen  of  Antioch,  where  the  follow- 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  181 

ers  of  Christ  were  first  called  Christians.  He  was 
familiar  with  Greek  literature,  as  is  evident  from  the 
style  and  structure  of  his  two  works,  the  Gospel  and 
book  of  Acts,  and  his  method  of  addressing  them  to 
Theophilus.  The  introductory  verses  of  his  Gospel 
are  pure  and  even  elegant  Greek,  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  his  introduction  to  the  Acts;  and  indeed 
wherever  he  writes  independently  in  his  own  person, 
and  does  not  quote  from  or  relate  the  discourses  of 
others. 

He  became  a  zealous  Christian  and  made  himself 
familiarly  acquainted  by  personal  investigation  (Luke 
i.  1-4)  with  all  the  circumstances  attending  the  origin  of 
Christianity,  diligently  studied  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
and  was  the  constant  companion  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

Of  Theophilus,  the  friend  to  whom  he  ascribes  his 
two  works,  nothing  is  known  with  certainty.  He  was 
probably  a  Greek  who  lived  out  of  Palestine,  and  per- 
haps at  Antioch,  the  native  city  of  Luke. 

The  Gospel  of  Luke  was  written  at  about  the  same 
time  with  that  of  Mark ;  and  as  the  latter  appears  to 
have  been  designed  particularly  for  the  Romans,  so 
the  former  seems  especially  adapted  to  the  Greeks. 
Luke  represents  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
without  distinction  of  nations,  and  traces  his  genealogy 
through  his  mother  Mary  to  Adam,  the  progenitor  of 
the  whole  human  family ;  in  this  particular  affording 
a  contrast  to  the  obviously  Jewish  complexion  of  the 
first  chapter  of  Matthew.  He  is  circumstantial  in  nar- 
rative, gives  the  dialogues  of  Christ  with  particularity, 
and  is  careful  to  insert  geographical  notices  of  the 
places  in  Palestine  which  he  mentions  (Luke  i.  2G  ;  iv. 
31;  viii.  26;  Acts  i.  12). 


182  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Of  all  tlie  evangelists  he  is  the  only  one  who  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  the  circumstances  which  preceded 
and  attended  the  births  of  John  Baptist  and  Jesus ; 
and  in  this  part  of  his  Gospel  the  style  is  more  strongly 
Hebraistic  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, if  we  except  the  Apocalypse.  Luke  probably 
copied  this  narrative  and  the  genealogy  just  as  he  found 
them  in  the  family  of  Elizabeth  and  Mary. 

Luke  was  the  companion  of  Paul  in  many  of  his 
missionary  journeys,  as  we  see  by  the  book  of  Acts; 
and  it  is  said  that  after  Paul's  martyrdom  he  preached 
in  Italy,  Dalmatia,  Macedonia,  Bithynia,  and  finally 
suffered  martyrdom  at  a  very  advanced  age. 

The  witnesses  to  Luke's  Gospel  are  Justin  Martyr, 
the  Letter  of  the  church  of  Vienne  and  Lyons,  Ire- 
naeus,  Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Julius  Africanus,  Jerome. 

A  specimen  of  the  testimony  we  subjoin. 

TESTIMONIES    TO    LUKE. 

Church  of  Vienne  and  Lyons.  Of  one  of  their  breth- 
ren they  say ;  ''  That  though  young,  he  equalled  the 
character  of  old  Zacharias  (Luke  i.  6)  ;  for  he  walked 
in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord 
blameless."     Lardner  ii.  162.     Euseb.  E.  11.  v.  1. 

Tatian  (lj\}k.Q  vi.  25):  "You  may  laugli,  but  you 
will  weep."  Oration  against  the  Gentiles,  Lardner 
ii.  150. 

Tatian  composed  a  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels,  of 
course  including  Luke.     Euseb.  E.  II.  iv.  29. 
■  Athenagoras  (Luke  xvi.   18) :  For  whosoever,  says 
he,  shall  put  away  his  wife,  and  shall   marry  another, 
committeth  adultery."     Legat.     Lardner  ii.  19 G. 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  183 

Theopliilus  (Luke  xviii.  27)  :  "  For  the  things  which 
with  men  are  impossible  are  possible  with  God."  Ad. 
Autol.     Lardner  ii.  205. 

Irenaeus :  "  Luke,  the  companion  of  Paul,  commit- 
ted to  writing  the  Gospel  preached  by  him."  Euseb. 
E.  H.  V.  8. 

"  Luke,  also,  the  follower  and  disciple  of  the  apos- 
tles, referring  to  Zachariah  and  Elizabeth,  of  whom 
according  to  the  promise  of  God,  John  was  born,  says 
they  were  both  righteous  before  God,"  etc.  (Luke  i. 
6.)     Adv.  Haer.  iii.  10. 

Clement  of  Alexandria:  "But  Luke  also  in  the 
commencement  of  his  narrative,  premises  the  cause 
which  led  him  to  write,  showing  that  many  others, 
having  rashly  undertaken  to  compose  a  narration 
of  matters  that  he  had  already  completely  ascer- 
tained, in  order  to  free  us  from  the  uncertain  supposi- 
tions of  others,  in  his  own  Gospel,  he  delivered  the 
certain  account  of  those  things,  that  he, himself  had 
fully  received  from  his  intimacy  and  stay  with  Paul, 
and  also,  his  intercourse  with  the  other  apostles." 
Euseb.  E.  H.  iii.  2,  4. 

Origen :  "  The  third  (Gospel)  is  according  to  Luke, 
the  Gospel  commended  by  Paul,  which  was  written 
for  the  converts  from  the  Gentiles.  Euseb.  E.  H. 
vi.  25. 

"But  Lucius  some  suppose  to  be  Luke  who  wrote  the 
Gospel."     Comment,  ad  Bom.  xvi.  2 

Justin  Martyr:  "As  Christ  indicated  saying.  To 
whom  God  hath  given  the  more,  he  will  also  require 
the  more  of  him."  (Luke  xii.  48.)     Apol.  i.  28. 

"  The  power  of  God  coming  down  upon  the  virgin 
overshadowed  her.     And  at  that  time  an  angel  being 


184  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

sent  to  the  virgin  herself  brought  joyful  tidings  to 
her."     (Luke  i.  35.)     Apol.  i.  54. 

"  As  also  you  can  learn  from  the  census  that 
took  place  under  Cyrenius,  your  first  procurator  in  Ju- 
dea."     (Luke  ii.  2.)     Apol.  i.  55. 

"  Therefore  moved  by  fear,  he  did  not  put  her  away, 
but  when  the  first  census  was  taken  in  Judea  under 
Cyrenius,  he  went  from  Nazareth  where  he  dwelt  to 
Bethlehem  where  he  originated,  that  he  might  be  en- 
rolled" (taxed).     Luke  ii.  1-5.)     Apol.  i.  303. 

"For  that  is  what  our  Lord  said,  they  shall  neither 
marry  nor  be  given  in  marriage,  but  shall  be  equal  to 
the  angels,  being  children  of  God,  and  of  the  resurrec- 
tion."  (Luke  XX.  35,  36.)     Apol.  i.  308. 

"  In  the  memoirs  which  I  say  were  composed  by  the 
apostles  and  those  who  followed  them,  we  find  that  his 
sweat  was  as  great  drops  of  blood,  while  he  prayed 
saying, 'if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me." 
(Luke  xxii.  41.)     Apol.  i.  331. 

"  Yielding  up  his  spirit  upon  the  cross  he  said.  Father 
into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit,  as  I  have  learned 
this  also  from  those  memoirs."  (Luke  xxiii.  46.) 
Apol.  i.  333. 

Tertullian:  "For  from  those  commentaries  which 
we  have,  Marcion  seems  to  have  selected  Luke,  whom 
he  mutilated.  Moreover  Luke  was  not  an  apostle  but 
an  apostolic  man,  not  a  master  but  a  disciple,  as  it  were 
less  than  a  master,  and  so  much  the  later  certainly  as 
he  was  the  companion  of  the  later  apostle  Paul  doubt- 
less."    Adv.  Marcion  iv.  2. 

Julius  Africanus.  This  writer  compares  the  gene- 
alogy of  Luke  with  that  of  ]\Latthcw. 

UuseMus :  "  But  Luke,  who  was  born  at  Antioch  and 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  •  185 

by  profession  a  physician,  being  for  the  most  part  con- 
nected with  Paul,  and  familiarly  acquainted  with  the 
rest  of  the  apostles,  has  left  us  in  two  inspired  books, 
the  institutes  of  that  spiritual  healing  art  which  he 
obtained  from  them.  One  of  these  is  his  Gospel,  in 
which  he  testifies  that  he  has  recorded  as  those  who 
were  from  the  beginning  eye  witnesses  and  ministers 
of  the  word,  delivered  to  him,  whom  also  he  says  he 
has  in  all  things  followed."     Ecc.  Hist.  iii.  4, 

GOSPEL    OF   JOHN. 

John,  the  son  of  Zebedee  and  Salome,  and  the 
brother  of  James,  was  born  in  Bethsaida  of  Galilee, 
the  native  city  of  Andrew  and  Peter  (John  i.  40  ;  Matt, 
iv.  18,  21).  From  the  circumstances,  that  the  father 
of  John  owned  vessels  on  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and 
had  hired  servants  in  his  employ  ;  and  that  his  mother 
was  one  of  those  who  provided  for  the  support  of 
Jesus  and  purchased  costly  spices  for  his  embalming ; 
and  that  he  had  a  house  in  Jerusalem,  and  was  person- 
ally known  to  the  high  priest ;  it  is  inferred  that  his 
family  were  in  possession  of  property,  and  of  respect- 
able rank.  (Compare  Mark  i.  20;  Matt,  xxvii.  56; 
Luke  xxiii.  56;  John  xix.  27;  xviii.  15.)  These  cir- 
cumstances of  superiority  might  possibly  have  embol- 
dened the  mother  of  James  and  John  to  make  for 
them  the  obnoxious  request  for  precedence  over  the 
other  disciples  (Matt.  xx.  20-24;  Mark.  x.  35).  His 
mother  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Christ,  but  nothing 
is  said  respecting  the  religious  character  of  his  father. 

He  was  originally  a  disciple  of  John  Baptist,  and 
was  among  the  first  to  follow  Christ  (John  i.  35). 
Having  afterwards  returned  to  his  business,  he  was  one 


186  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  first  whom  Jesus  called  to  the  apostleship  (Matt. 
iv.  18,  21).  Andrew  and  Peter,  James  and  John  were 
the  first  chosen  of  the  apostles ;  three  of  them,  Peter, 
James  and  John,  were  selected  by  Jesus  to  witness  the 
glories  of  his  transfiguration  (Matt.  xvii.  1 ;  Mark  v.  37), 
and  the  agonies  of  his  humiliation  in  the  garden  ;  two, 
Peter  and  John,  remained  with  him  when  all  the  others 
forsook  him  and  fled  (John  xviii.  15)  ;  and  one  only 
stood  by  him  to  the  last  and  witnessed  his  death  (John 
xix.  26),  and  this  one  was  John;  and  to  him  the  ex- 
piring Jesus  affectionately  committed  the  care  of  his 
mother,  requesting  him  to  discharge  towards  her  the 
duties  of  a  son. 

"  Now  there  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother 
and  his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleopas,  and 
Mary  Magdalene.  When  Jesus,  therefore,  saw  his 
mother,  and  the  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he  loved, 
he  said  unto  his  mother.  Woman,  behold  thy  son! 
Then  saith  he  to  the  disciple.  Behold  thy  mother! 
And  from  that  hour  that  disciple  took  her  unto  his 
own  house." 

Peter  and  John  were  first  at  the  tomb  of  Christ, 
after  the  news  of  his  resurrection  (John  xx.  2-8). 

According  to  ancient  testimony,  John  was  the 
youngest  of  the  apostles,  and  some  four  or  five  years 
younger  than  Jesus,  and  the  Gospel  designates  him  as 
the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved. 

lie  remained  at  Jerusalem,  as  Eusebius  informs  us, 
till  after  the  death  of  Jesus'  mother  and  the  imprison- 
ment of  Paul ;  when  he  went  to  Ephesus,  about  A.  D. 
65,  to  take  charge  of  the  important  church  Avhich  Paul 
had  established  there  (Acts  xix.  1-20).     Soon  after  he 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  187 

was  banished  to  Patmos  by  Nero*  (Rev.  i.  9),  where 
he  wrote  the  Apocalypse.  After  a  time  he  was  re- 
stored to  Ephesus,  where  he  established  a  theological 
school,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  numerous 
churches  '  with  competent  pastors,  as  they  could  no 
longer  expect  the  continuance  of  miraculous  qualifica- 
tions. Hence  he  received  the  appellation  of  the  theo- 
logian or  divine.  "While  engaged  in  this  employment, 
he  wrote  his  Gospel  and  Epistles ;  and  in  the  reign  of 
Trajan,  he  died  a  natural  death  at  a  very  advanced 
age.     (Eusebius,  Eccl.  Hist.  iii.  18,  23,  31,  39.) 

From  several  instances  recorded  of  him  in  the  Gos- 
pels, he  seems  to  have  been  originally  of  an  impetuous 
and  fiery  temper,  which  by  the  influence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  became  entirely  subdued,  and  produced 
that  warmth  of  affection,  that  soul  stirring  energy  of 
love,  the  softness,  mildness,  and  richness  of  feeling, 
which  we  so  much  admire  in  this  beloved  apostle. 
(Luke  ix.  49,  54,  55;  Mark  iii.  17;  ix.  38,  39.) 

His  Gospel  probably  was  especially  written  for  the 
use  of  his  theological  students,  and  it  is  equally  distin- 
guished for  the  childlike  simplicity  of  its  language  and 
the  depth  and  pathos  of  its  sentiment.  It  is  supple- 
mentary to  the  others,  and  consists  principally  of  the 

*  Nero  was  of  the  Domitian  family,  and  his  full  family  designa- 
tion was  Nero  Claudius  Domitius,  or  in  the  adjective  form,  Dom- 
ITIANUS.  This  led  to  the  misapprehension  among  some  of  the 
ancients  that  John  suffered  punishment  under  Domitiax  and  not  un- 
der Nero,  but  this  was  by  no  means  the  case  with  all.  The  subject  is 
very  thoroughly  and  satisfactorily  discussed  by  Guericke  in  his  Ein- 
leitung  in  das  Neue  Testament,  p.  59-65,  and  522-530,  and  also  by 
Prof  Stuart  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,  vol.  i.  p.  263- 
282.     The  discussion  is  too  wide  and  involved  to  be  entered  into  here. 


188  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

discourses  of  Jesus,  which  are  characterized  by  so 
great  freshness  and  naturahiess,  and  so  strong  an  ex- 
citement of  the  most  inward  emotions,  that  we  are 
inclined  to  believe  that  they  must  be  given  nearly 
word  for  word  as  they  were  uttered.  The  ancients, 
on  account  of  these  peculiarities,  called  this  the  spir- 
itual gospel ;  and  by  a  distinguished  modern,  Ernesti, 
it  has  been  styled  the  heart  of  Jesus.  Though  the 
most  simple  in  its  language,  it  is  the  most  difficult  of 
all  to  be  fully  comprehended.  There  is  great  pecu- 
liarity in  the  use  of  words,  such  rs  light,  life,  ivord,  &c., 
and  a  depth  of  meaning  which  has  not  often  been 
fully  explored.  It  is  always  a  favorite  book  among 
those  who  have  full  sympathy  with  the  spirituality  of 
the  Christian  religion,  but  very  mystical  and  obscure 
to  such  as  know  Christianity  only  in  its  outward  forms 
and  precepts. 

Chrysostom,  in  speaking  of  this  Gospel,  expresses 
himself  in  terms  like  the  following :  "If  the  spectators 
of  orators,  musicians,  and  athletes,  sit  with  so  great 
willingness  to  see  and  hear,  how  great  readiness  and  zeal 
should  we  manifest  when,  not  a  musician,  not  a  sophist, 
enters  the  scene,  but  a  man  speaking  from  the  heavens 
and  uttering  a  voice  more  majestic  than  thunder !  For 
he  seizes  and  holds  the  world,  and  fills  it  with  his 
tones,  not  by  a  loud  cry,  but  by  moving  his  tongue 
with  divine  grace :  and  what  is  wonderful,  this  voice, 
though  so  great,  is  neither  harsh  nor  unpleasant,  but 
sweeter,  more  persuasive,  more  enchanting  than  all  the 
harmony  of  music  ;  and  besides  all  this,  most  holy  and 
most  exciting,  full  of  unspeakable  glories,  and  convey- 
ing so  great  blessings,  that  those  who  with  readiness 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  189 

ana  ailigence  receive  and  retain  them,  are  no  longer 
like  mortal  men,  nor  do  they  abide  upon  earth,  but 
rise  above  all  transitory  things,  and  being  transferred 
to  the  angelic  inheritance,  so  inhabit  earth  as  if  it  were 
heaven."  (Preface  to  Homilies  on  John). 

Augustin  speaks  with  equal  enthusiasm.  "In  the 
four  Gospels,  or  rather  in  the  four  books  of  the  one 
Gospel,  John  has  not  unaptly  been  compared  to  the 
eagle  on  account  of  his  etherial  intelligence ;  for  he 
carries  his  preaching  to  a  much  higher  and  more  sub- 
lime elevation  than  the  other  three,  and  in  his  eleva- 
vation  wills  our  hearts  also  to  be  raised.  The  other 
three  evangelists  walked  with  the  Lord  as  with  a  man 
on  earth,  and  said  but  little  concerning  his  divinity ; 
but  John,  as  if  it  were  irksome  to  him  to  remain  on 
earth,  thunders,  as  it  were,  in  the  very  beginning  of 
his  Gospel,  rises  not  only  above  the  earth  and  above 
the  whole  circuit  of  the  atmosphere  and  heavens,  but 
even  above  all  the  hosts  of  angels,  and  the  whole  order 
of  the  invisible  powers,  and  makes  his  way  directly  to 
him  by  whom  all  things  are  done,  saying :  '  In  the  be- 
ginning was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God.'  The  rest  of  the  Gospel  cor- 
responds to  this  great  sublimity  of  its  commencement. 
He  freely  gave  what  he  had  freely  received.  For  it  is 
not  without  reason,  that  it  is  said  of  him  in  this  very 
Gospel,  that  he  leaned  on  the  breast  of  the  Lord  at 
the  last  supper.  From  that  breast  he  imbibed  in  secret, 
and  what  he  had  imbibed  in  secret  he  gave  out  openly." 
(Tract,  in  Johan.  36.) 

Origen  also  says,  "It  is  not  too  much  to  affirm,  that 
as  the  Gospels  are  the  chief  of  all  writings,  so  the  Gos- 


190  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

pel  of  John  is  the  chief  of  the  Gospels ;  but  no  one 
can  understand  it  except  by  reclining  on  the  bosom 
of  Jesus ;  and  so  far,  indeed,  he  must  become  another 
John,  as  John  by  sympathy  becomes  another  Jesus." 
(Com.  in  Johan.) 

But  the  most  characteristic  description  of  the  pecu- 
liar style  of  John  is  by  Matthias  Claudius,  an  eccentric 
German  writer.  He  says,  "  It  delights  me  most  of  all 
to  read  in  St.  John.  There  is  in  him  something  so 
entirely  wonderful,  twilight  and  night,  and  through  it 
the  swiftly  darting  lightning — a  soft  evening  cloud,  and 
behind  the  cloud  the  broad  full  moon  bodily  ;  some- 
thing so  deeply,  sadly  pensive,  so  high,  so  full  of  an- 
ticipation, that  one  can  not  have  enough  of  it.  In 
reading  John,  it  is  with  me  always  as  though  I  saw 
him  before  me,  lying  on  the  bosom  of  his  Master,  at 
the  last  supper ;  as  though  his  angel  were  holding  the 
light  for  me,  and  in  certain  passages  would  fall  upon 
my  neck,  and  whisper  something  in  my  ear. 

"  I  am  far  from  understanding  everything  which  I 
read,  but  it  often  seems  to  me  as  if  what  John  meant, 
were  floating  before  me  in  the  distance ;  and  even 
where  I  look  into  a  passage  altogether  dark,  I  have  a 
foretaste  of  some  great,  glorious  meaning,  which  I 
shall  one  day  understand,  and  for  this  reason  I  grasp 
so  eagerly  after  every  new  interpretation  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  John.     Indeed  the  most  of  them  only  crisp* 

*  See  Goethe's  Faust.  Scene  first,  "  Your  speeches  I  say,  which 
are  so  highly  polished,  in  Avliicli  ye  crisp  the  shreds  of  luiniiinity,  arc 
unrefreshing  as  the  mist-wind  which  whistles  through  the  withered 
leaves  in  autumn." 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  191 

the   evening  cloud,  and  the  moon  behind  has  quiet 
rest."     (Claudius's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  9.) 

The  witnesses  to  John's  Gospel  are  Barnabas,  Pastor 
Hermas,  Clement  of  Rome,  Papias,  Ignatius,  Justin 
Martyr,  the  Letter  to  Diognetus,  the  Letter  of  the 
Churches  of  Vienne  and  Lyons,  Irenaeus,  Polycrates, 
Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, Tertullian,  Caius  of  Rome,  Origen,  Dionysius  of 
Alexandria,  Eusebius,  Dorotheus  of  Tyre,  Victorinus 
of  Pettau,  Epiphanius,  Jerome. 

Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  who  lived  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  fourth  century,  preserves  the  following 
curious  tradition  respecting  John's  Gospel,  which  is 
well  worthy  of  regard.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
apostle's  long  life,  the  first  three  Gospels  were  laid 
before  him  by  his  neighboring  ministers,  to  which  he 
gave  his  sanction,  but  said  that  important  particulars 
had  been  omitted,  and  at  their  earnest  request,  he  sup- 
plied those  omissions  in  the  Gospel  which  he  then 
wrote.     (Wordsworth  on  Canon,  p.  136-7.) 

We  now  give  a  specimen  of  the  testimony  above 
referred  to. 

Ignatius :  "  He  also  is  the  gate  of  the  Father,  by 
whom  enter  in  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  and  the 
prophets  and  the  apostles  and  the  church.  (John  x. 
9.)     Ad  Philadelph.  c.  9. 

"Wherefore  as  the  Lord  without  the  Father  doeth 
nothing."     (John  viii.  28.)     Ad  Magn.  c.  7. 

"  But  living  water,  also  speaking  in  me  says  within 
me,  come  to  the  Father ;  I  rejoice  not  in  corruptible 
food,  nor  in  the  pleasures  of  this  life ;  I  desire  the 
bread  of  God,  the  heavenly  bread,  the  bread  of  life, 


192  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

which  is  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
afterward  born  of  the  seed  of  David,  and  I  desire  the 
drink  which  is  the  blood,  which  is  love  incorruptible 
and  life  eternal."  (John  vi.  32,  33,  45;  xlv.  51-58.) 
Ad  Rom.  c.  7. 

Justin  Martyr :  "For  Christ  himself  says,  except  ye 
be  born  again  ye  can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.'"     (John  iii.  4.  5.)     Apol.  i.  89. 

"And  Jesus  Christ  was  begotten,  the  only  genuine 
Son  of  God,  being  His  Word."  (John  i.  1,  19.) 
Apol.  ii.  68. 

"  But  the  Word  of  God  is  His  Son."     Apol.  ii.  95. 

"By  the  Word  of  God  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
was  made  flesh."     (John  i.  14.)     Apol.  ii.  98. 

"  But  the  men  supposed  him  (John  Baptist)  to  be 
Christ,  among  whom  he  cried,  I  am  not  the  Christ,  but 
the  voice  of  one  crying,  etc."  (John  i.  20,  23.)  Dial 
p.  316. 

"  And  he  gave  himself  to  be  touched  by  them,  and 
he  showed  the  prints  of  the  nails  in  his  hands.  (John 
XX.  27.)     De  Resurrect. 

Epistle  to  Biognetus :  "  This  (the  Word)  is  the  same 
who  was  from  the  beginning."     (John  i.  1.) 

Epistle  of  the  Cliurclies  at  Vienne  and  Lyons :  "And 
that  was  fulfilled  which  was  predicted  by  our  Lord  in 
these  words.  The  time  will  come  when  whosoever  kill- 
eth  you  will  think  he  doeth  God  service."  (John  xvL 
2.)     Euseb.  E.  11.  v.  1. 

Barnabas^  xii. :  "  And  again  Moses  makes  a  type  of 
Jesus,  to  show  that  he  w'as  to  die,  and  then  that  he, 
whom  they  tliought  to  be  dead,  was  to  give  life  to 
others ;  in  the  typo  of  those  that  fell  in  Israel.     For 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  193 

God  caused  all  sorts  of  serpents  to  bite  tliem,  and  they 
died ;  forasmuch  as  by  a  serpent,  transgression  began 
in  Eve  ;  that  so  he  might  convince  them  that  for  their 
transgressions  they  shall  be  delivered  into  the  pain  of 
death.  Moses  then  himself,  who  had  commanded 
them,  saying,  Ye  shall  not  make  to  yourselves  any 
graven  or  molten  image,  to  be  your  god,  yet  now  did 
so  himself,  that  he  might  represent  to  them  the  figure 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  For  he  made  a  brazen  serpent, 
and  set  it  up  on  high,  and  called  the  people  together 
by  a  proclamation ;  where  being  come,  they  entreated 
Moses  that  he  would  make  an  atonement  for  them,  and 
pray  that  they  might  be  healed."     (John  iii.  14.) 

Pastor  Hennas :  "  But  the  door  is  the  Son  of  God, 
who  is  the  only  access  to  God.  No  one  therefore  will 
enter  in  to  God  otherwise  than  by  his  Son."  (John  x. 
7-9.)     Simil.  ix.  12. 

Clement  of  Rome :    "  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

being  beaten  by  the  servants  of  the  high  priest,  an- 
swered. If  I  have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil, 
but  if  well,  why  smitest  thou  me."  Kirchhofer,  p.  144. 

Irenaeus :  "Afterwards  John,  the  disciple  of  our 
Lord,  the  same  that  lay  upon  his  bosom,  also  published 
the  Gospel,  while  he  was  yet  at  Ephesus  in  Asia." 
Euseb.  E.  H.  v.  8. 

"All  the  elders  testify,  who  were  conversant  with 
John  the  disciple  of  our  Lord  in  Asia,  that  John  deliv- 
ered these  things."     Adv.  Haer.  ii.  22. 

"John,  the  disciple  of  our  Lord,  announcing  this 

faith thus  began,  in  the  doctrine 

which  is  according  to  the  Gospel,  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word."     (John  i.  1.)     Adv.  Haer.  iii.  11. 
13 


194  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Poly cr Cites :  "Moreover  John,  who  rested  on  the 
bosom  of  our  Lord,  who  was  a  friend  that  bore  the 
sacerdotal  plate,  and  a  teacher  and  witness,  lies  buried 
at  Ephesus."     (John  xiii.  23.)     Euseb.  E.  H.  iii.  31. 

Tatian:  "All  things  were  made  by  him,  and  with- 
out him  was  not  anything  made."  (John  i.  3.)  Orat. 
cont.  Grace.  158. 

"  And  this  also  is  said,  The  darkness  did  not  com- 
prehend the  light.  The  word  indeed  is  the  light  of 
God."     (John  i.  5.)     Orat.   132. 

"  God  is  a  spirit."     (John  iv.  24.)  Orat.  p.  144. 

Atlienagoras :  "But  the  Son  of  God  is  the  Word 
of  the  Father,  in  idea  and  in  work ;  for  by  him  and 
through  him  were  all  things  made,  the  Father  and  the 
Son  being  one ;  the  Son  being  in  the  Father  and  the 
Father  in  the  Son  by  the  union  and  power  of  the 
Spirit,  for  the  Son  of  God  is  both  the  mind  and  the 
Word  of  the  Father."  (John  i.  3  ;  x.  30,  38.)  Legal.  10. 

"  For  God  was  from  the  beginning,  being  eternal 
mind ;  and  He  himself  had  the  word  in  himself  being 
eternally  endowed  with  the  Word.  (John  i.  1,  2.) 
Legal.  10. 

Tlieopliihts :  "As  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  all  who 
have  the  Spirit  teach  us,  among  whom  John  says,  In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word  and  the  Word  was  with 
God  ;  signifying  that  God  alone  was  in  the  beginning 
and  that  the  Word  was  in  Him.  And  then  he  says, 
The  Word  was  God,  and  all  things  were  made  by 
Him,  and  without  Him  there  was  not  anything  made." 
(John  i.  1-3.)     Ad.  Autol.  ii. 

Clement  of  Alexandria :  "  John,  last  of  all,  perceiv- 
ing that  what  had  reference  to  the  body  in  the  Gospel 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  195 

of  our  Saviour  was  sufficiently  detailed,  and  being  en- 
couraged by  his  particular  friends  and  urged  by  the 
Spirit,  he  wrote  a  spiritual  Gospel."  Euseb.  E.  H.  vi. 
14,  compare  iii.  24. 

Tertullian :  "Of  the  apostles,  John  and  Matthew 
publish  the  faith  to  us."     Ad.  Marc.  iv.  2. 

Origen:  "What  shall  we  say  of  him  who  reclined 
on  the  breast  of  Jesus,  I  mean  John  ?  who  has  left  one 
Gospel,  in  which  he  confesses  that  he  could  write  so 
many  that  the  whole  world  could  not  contain  them." 
Euseb.  E.  H.  vi.  25. 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria :  "The  Gospel  and  Epistle 
(of  John)  mutually  agree;  for  the  one  says.  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  other,  That  which 
was  from  the  beginning ;  the  one  says.  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  saw  his  glory, 
the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father ;  the 
other  says  the  same  things  a  little  altered.  That  which 
we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  and 
which  our  hands  have  handled  of  the  Word  of  life, 
and  the  life  was  manifested."     Euseb.  E.  H.  vii.  25. 

Yictorinus  of  Pettau:  "For  he  (John)  afterwards 
wrote  the  Gospel."     Lardner  iv.  211. 

Dorotheus  of  Tyre :  "  John,  the  brother  of  James, 
who  was  made  the  evangelist  of  the  Lord,  whom  also 
the  Lord  loved,  proclaimed  in  Asia  the  Gospel  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."     De  Vit.  et  mort.  proph. 

Eusehius :  "  The  Gospel  of  John  comprehends  the 
first  events  of  Christ,  but  the  others  the  history  that 
took  place  at  the  latter  part  of  the  time.  It  is  proba- 
ble therefore  that  for  these  reasons  John  has  passed 
by  in  silence  the  genealogy  of  our  Lord,  because  it 


196  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

was  written  by  Matthew  and  Luke ;  but  that  he  com- 
menced with  the  doctrine  of  the  divinity,  as  a  part 
reserved  for  him  by  the  divine  Spirit,  as  if  for  a  supe- 
rior. Let  this  suffice  to  be  said  respecting  the  Gospel 
of  John."     Eccl.  Hist.  iii.  24. 

FjnjjJiamus :  "  Wherefore  also  the  blessed  John  com- 
ing, and  seeing  men  busying  themselves  with  the  lower 
coming  of  Christ,  and  the  Ebionites  deducing  the 
bodily  genealogy  of  Christ  from  Abraham     .... 

.     .     .     said  not that  the  Word 

of  God,  whom  the  Father  begat  from  eternity  was 
from  Mary  alone,  nor  from  Joseph  the  husband  of  the 
virgin,  but,  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  Haer. 
Ixix.  23. 

Jerome :  "  The  apostle  John,  whom  Jesus  especially 
loved,  the  son  of  Zebedee  and  the  brother  of  the  apos- 
tle James,  whom  Herod  beheaded  after  the  passion  of 
our  Lord,  wrote  the  Gospel  last  of  all,  being  called 
thereto  by  the  bishops  of  Asia,  against  Cerinthus  and 
other  heretics,  and  especially  the  dogmas  of  the 
Ebionites,  who  assert  that  Christ  did  not  exist  before 
Mary."     Catal.  Scrip.  Eccl.  c.  9. 

"He  wrote  this  Gospel  in  Asia,  after  he  had  wi'itten 
the  Apocalypse  in  the  island  of  Patmos — the  last  of 
the  Gospels."     Praef  in  Cod.  Antiq. 

RELATION  OF  THE  GOSPELS  TO  EACH  OTHER. 

In  the  four  evangelists,  we  have  a  fourfold  picture 
of  the  Saviour ;  the  same  perfect  character  as  it  im- 
pressed its  image  on  four  minds  of  different  structure 
and  habits  ;  and  the  picture  in  each  instance  receives 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  197 

a  diiferent  shade  of  coloring  in  consequence  of  the 
particular  purpose  and  genius  of  each  writer. 

Matthew  developes  the  character  of  Christ  in  the 
way  best  adapted  to  take  hold  of  the  devout  Jews, 
looking  for  the  hope  of  their  fathers  as  promised  in 
the  Old  Testament.  Mark  writes  for  the  grave,  severe, 
matter  of  fact  Roman;  Luke,  for  the  versatile  and 
learned  Greek,  whose  eager  curiosity  could  never  sleep 
— and  John,  for  the  deeply  reflecting,  philosophical 
spirit,  which  feels  keenly  the  want  of  that  which  earth 
cannot  afford,  and  whose  intense  desires  remain  unsat- 
isfied amid  all  the  physical  and  intellectual  luxuries 
that  satiate  the  rest  of  mankind.  Matthew  exhibited 
the  human  and  subordinate ;  John,  the  spiritual  and 
divine  of  the  Redeemer  ;  Mark,  his  ofiicial  character ; 
and  Luke,  his  personal  history. 

Li  the  four  we  have  Jesus  represented  to  us  as  the 
Messiah,  the  Teacher,  the  Pattern,  and  the  God.  (Com- 
pare Olshausen's  Introduction  to  his  Commentary  on 
the  New  Testament.) 

Throughout  the  Bible,  God  recognizes  the  principle 
of  approaching  different  minds  by  different  means,  and 
has  so  arranged  his  word  that  no  constitutional  pecul- 
iarity remains  untouched.  Whatever  may  be  your  pe- 
culiar temperament  or  habits  of  mind,  in  the  Bible  you 
will  find  a  Redeemer  adapted  to  your  wants,  and  a  Gos- 
pel suited  to  your  condition.  Try  the  character  and 
claims  of  Jesus  by  the  various  and  pressing  spiritual 
necessities  of  men,  and  see  how  exactly  he  answers  to 
them  all ;  with  what  certainty  he  leads  every  variety 
of  character  submitted  to  his  direction  towards  its  own 
proper  perfection ;  by  what  appropriate  methods  he 


198  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

corrects  every  evil  disposition  and  soothes  every  sor- 
row ;  how  equally  he  reveals  himself  to  the  most  en- 
lightened and  the  least  instructed  of  those  who  make 
him  their  Saviour ;  how  uniformly  all  his  precepts  are 
fitted  to  the  nature  and  condition  of  men  and  tend  to 
promote  their  highest  happiness  ;  how  strong  a  hold 
he  has  on  the  warmest  and  most  devoted  aifections  of 
all  who  choose  him  for  their  friend ;  with  what  unde- 
viating  confidence  they  trust  him,  and  with  what  un- 
shaken faith  they  preserve  the  consciousness  of  his 
presence  and  love  ;  and  how  this  confidence  and  faith, 
when  regulated  by  his  instructions,  never  fiiils  to  im- 
part unalloyed  improvement  to  the  intellect  and  the 
affections ;  how  hope  by  his  influence  continues  steady 
through  every  kind  of  worldly  trial,  and  brightens  to 
rapturous  vision  when  man  is  called  to  nature's  last 
struggle — consider,  also,  that  all  this  influence  has  been 
steadily  increasing  from  its  first  commencement,  and 
that  the  number,  the  zeal,  the  intelligence,  and  the 
power  of  those  who  act  under  it,  was  never  so  great 
as  at  the  present  time,  and  never  so  rapidly  increasing 
— contemplate  all  this,  as  it  actually  occurs  in  this 
cold,  sensual  world ;  and  awed  by  a  miracle  really  more 
stupendous  than  the  darkness  and  the  earthquake,  the 
rending  rocks  and  the  opening  graves  of  the  cruci- 
fixion-day, will  you  not  exclaim  with  the  Roman  sol- 
dier. Truly  this  mem  ivas  the  Son  of  God!  (Mark 
XV.  39.) 

I  ask  the  reader's  careful  attention  to  the  following 
extracts  from  Augustin,  as  admirably  translated  by 
Dr.  Wordsworth,  in  the  introduction  to  his  Commen- 
tary on  the  New  Tcstamont.     1  insert  them  here  be- 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  199 

cause  the  fathers  had  ways  of  looking  at  the  books  of 
the  Bible,  which  in  our  day  have  nearly  become  obso- 
lete, and  which  ought  in  some  measure  at  least  to  be 
revived.  The  incredulity  of  our  own  times  in  regard 
to  the  Bible  is  due,  not  so  much  to  the  want  of  evi- 
dence as  to  the  want  of  that  reverence  and  affection 
and  admiration  of  the  Scriptures,  which  so  distinguished 
the  Christians  of  the  early  ages. 

"We  concur  with  those,"  says  St.  Augustin,  "who, 
in  interpreting  the  Vision  of  the  Four  Living  Crea- 
tures in  the  Apocalypse,  which  represent  the  Four 
Gospels,  assign  the  Z^07^,  the  King  of  all  Beasts,  to 
St.  Mattheio  ;  and  the  Ox^  the  Sacrificial  Victim,  to  St. 
Luke.  The  Apocalypse  itself  says,  '•The  Lion  of  the 
Tribe  of  Jiidali  prevailed  to  open  the  book ;'  and 
thus  it  designates  the  Lion  as  symbolical  of  Christ  our 
King. 

"  St.  Mark  follows  St.  Matthew,  and  relates  what 
Christ  did  in  His  Human  Nature,  without  special  refer- 
ence to  His  functions  as  King  or  Priest,  and  is  there- 
fore fitly  symbolized  in  the  Apocalyptic  vision  as  the 
Man. 

"  These  three  Living  Creatures — the  Lion,  the  Ox, 
the  Man — walk  on  the  eartli.  The  first  three  Evange- 
lists describe  especially  those  things  which  Christ  did 
in  our  flesh,  and  relate  the  precepts  which  He  deliv- 
ered on  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  us  while  we 
walk  on  earth  and  dwell  in  the  flesh.  But  St.  John 
soars  to  heaven  as  an  Eagle,  above  the  clouds  of  human 
infirmity,  and  reveals  to  us  the  mysteries  of  Christ's 
Godhead,  and  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  and  the  felici- 
ties of  Life  Eternal ;  and  gazes  on  the  Light  of  Im- 
mutable Truth  with  a  keen  and  steady  ken. 


200  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"  The  first  three  Evangelists  inculcate  the  practical 
duties  of  Active  Life ;  St.  John  dwells  on  the  ineffa- 
ble mysteries  of  the  Contemplative  :  the  former  speak 
of  Labour,  the  last  speaks  of  Rest :  the  former  lead 
the  Way,  the  last  shows  our  Home.  In  the  former  we 
are  cleansed  from  sin,  in  the  last  we  enjoy  the  beatific 
Vision  promised  to  the  pure  in  heart  who  will  see  God. 

"  He,  who  is  the  last  in  order,  declares  more  fully 
the  Divine  Nature  of  Christ,  by  which  he  is  Equal  to 
and  One  with  the  Father,  and  in  which  He  made  the 
World ;  as  if  this  Evangelist,  who  reclined  on  the  bo- 
som of  Christ  at  Supper,  had  imbibed  in  a  larger 
stream  the  mystery  of  His  Divinity  from  His  lips. 

"  This  Evangelic  Quaternion  is  the  fourfold  Car  of 
the  Lord,  upon  which  He  rides  throughout  the  world, 
and  subdues  the  Nations  to  His  easy  yoke.  The  Mys- 
tery of  His  Royalty  and  Priesthood,  which  was  fore- 
told ]jy  Prophecy,  is  proclaimed  in  the  Gospel.  The 
same  Lord  Christ,  Who  sent  the  Prophets  before  His 
descent  from  heaven  into  this  world,  has  now  sent  His 
Apostles  after  His  Ascension.  He  is  the  Head  of  all 
His  Disciples;  and  since  His  Disciples  have  written 
those  things  which  He  did  and  said,  we  are  not  to 
affirm  with  some,  that  Christ  wrote  nothing.  They 
wrote,  as  His  members,  what  they  knew  from  the  dic- 
V  tation  of  Him  who  is  their  Head.  Whatsoever  He 
willed  that  we  should  know  of  His  own  Words  and 
Deeds,  this  he  commanded  them  to  write,  as  it  were, 
by  His  own  hand.  Whoever,  therefore,  rightly  com- 
prehends the  fellowship  of  Unity,  and  the  Ministry  of 
His  Members  acting  harmoniously  in  different  func- 
tions under  their  Divine  Head,  will  receive  wliat  he 


THE     FOUR     GOSPELS.  201 

reads  in  the  Gospel  from  the  narration  of  the  Evange- 
lists, with  no  other  feeling  than  if  he  saw  the  very 
hand  of  Christ  Himself,  which  He  has  in  His  own 
body,  performing  the  act  of  writing. 

In  the  first  three  Evangelists,  the  gifts  of  active 
virtue, — in  the  last,  St.  John,  those  of  contemplative, 
shine  forth.  To  one  man  is  given  hy  the  Sjjirit  the 
ivord  of  wisdom ;  to  another  the  luord  of  knowledge  hy 
the  same  Spirit.  One  drinks  wisdom  from  the  bosom 
of  Christ ;  another  man  is  raised  to  the  third  heaven^ 
and  hears  unutterable  words.  But  as  long  as  they  are 
in  the  body,  all  are  absent  from  the  Lord.  And  all 
who  believe  with  good  hope,  and  are  written  in  the 
Book  of  Life,  have  this  promise  reserved  to  them, — 
/  will  love  him^  and  iDill  manifest  Myself  to  him.  In 
proportion  as  we  make  greater  progress  in  knowledge 
and  intelligence  in  this  mortal  pilgrimge  of  life,  let  us 
be  more  and  more  on  our  guard  against  two  devilish 
sins.  Pride  and  Envy.  Let  us  remember,  that  as  St. 
John  elevates  us  more  and  more  to  the  contemplation 
of  the  Truth,  so  much  the  more  does  he  instruct  us  in 
the  sweetness  of  Love.  That  precept  is  most  health- 
ful and  true, — The  greater  thou  art.,  the  more  humble 
thyself  and  thou  shalt  find  favour  before  the  Lord.  The 
Evangelist  who  reveals  to  us  Christ  more  sublimely 
than  the  rest,  he  also  shows  us  the  humility  of  Christ 
washing  His  Disciples'  feet." 


Another  remark  of  St.  Augustin's  has  in  it  so  much 
of  good  sense,  and  is  so  far  in  advance  of  the  opin- 
ions of  many  even  at  the  present  day,  that  I  am  hap- 
py to  make  place  for  it  here : 

"There  are  varieties,  but  not  contrarieties,  in  the 
Gospels;  and  by  means  of  these  varieties  we  may 
learn  some  very  useful  and  necessary  truths.  We  are 
thus  reminded  that  the  main  thing  for  us,  is  to  ascer- 
tain the  '}neaning  to  which  the  words  are  ministerial ; 
and  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  the  Sacred  Writers 
deceive  us  because  they  do  not  give  us  the  precise  words 
of  Him  whose  meaning  they  desire  to  express.  Other- 
wise we  shall  be  like  mere  miserable  caterers  at  sylla- 
bles, {miseri  aucupes  vocum^)  who  imagine  that  the 
truth  is  to  be  tied  to  the  points  of  letters;  whereas, 
not  in  words  only,  but  also  in  all  other  symbols  of  the 
mind,  it  is  the  mind  itself  which  is  to  be  sought  for." 
Wordsworth  on  the  Gospels,  p.  xlvii. 


CHAPTER    SEVENTH. 


THE  APOCRYPHAL  GOSPELS. 

COMPARISON  OF  THE  CANONICAL  GOSPELS   WITH   THE  APOC- 
RYPHAL GOSPELS  STILL  EXTANT. 

The  impugners  of  the  New  Testament  Gospels  ap- 
peal to  the  fact,  that  there  are  gospels  acknowledged 
to  be  apocryphal,  as  a  proof  of  their  theory  that  our 
recognized  Gospels  are  also  myths  or  forgeries.  Any 
one  who  candidly  examines  these  spurious  gospels,  and 
compares  them  with  the  New  Testament,  will  find  in 
them,  not  a  refutation  of  our  sacred  writers,  but  a 
most  convincing  testimony  to  their  intelligence,  hon- 
esty and  supernatural  inspiration.  So  totally  diverse 
are  they  from  the  genuine  Gospels  in  conception,  in 
spirit,  in  execution,  in  their  whole  impression,  in  all 
respects  so  entirely  unlike,  so  immeasurably  inferior, 
that  the  New  Testament  only  shines  the  brighter  by 
the  contrast.  They  have  scarcely  so  much  resemblance 
to  the  genuine  Gospels  as  the  monkey  has  to  a  man. 

The  inspiration  of  the  canonical  books  is  proved 
quite  as  strongly  by  what  they  omit  as  by  what  they 
insert ;  and  this  ray  of  evidence  shines  out  very  clearly 
on  a  comparison  of  the  apocryphal  gospels  with  the 
Gospels  of  the  New  Testament. 


204  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

An  elaborate  history  and  collection  of  these  writings 
was  first  published  by  Fabricius  near  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century.  The  first  volume  of  a  new  and 
critical  edition  was  issued  at  Halle  by  Thilo  in  1832. 
Prof  Norton  has  given  an  account  of  them  in  the  third 
volume  of  his  work  on  the  Genuineness  of  the  Gos- 
pels, but  with  an  incredulity  in  regard  to  the  testimo- 
ny of  the  ancients  which  amounts  almost  to  credu- 
lousness  ;  yet  it  is  very  useful  to  be  studied  in  connec- 
tion with  other  and  more  credulous  authorities.  Ull- 
mann  gives  a  very  good  abstract  of  them  in  his  treatise 
entitled  Historiscli  oder  Mythisch^  and  Guericke  in  his 
Introduction  to  the  New  Testament  makes  a  brief  and 
intelligible  catalogue  of  them.  Quite  recently  Dr. 
Hoffmann  of  Leipzig  has  compiled  a  life  of  Jesus  ac- 
cording to  the  Apocrypha,  accompanied  with  learned 
annotations.  English  translations  of  the  principal  apoc- 
ryphal writings  of  the  New  Testament  have  been  col- 
lected and  published  both  in  England  and  the  United 
States.  If  this  has  been  done  with  any  purpose  of 
bringing  discredit  on  our  genuine  New  Testament,  the 
design  has  most  signally  failed,  for  on  every  fair  minded 
and  intelligent  reader,  they  must  produce  directly  the 
opposite  effect. 

Fabricius  gave  the  titles  of  about  fifty  of  such  spu- 
rious writings,  and  the  industry  of  subsequent  investi- 
gations has  added  to  the  number;  but  scarcely  one- 
tenth  part  of  these  are  now  extant,  and  probably  there 
were  never  more  than  ten  or  a  dozen  distinct  works  of 
the  kind,  the  others  being  different  recensions  of  the 
same  narrative,  or  different  titles  of  the  same  work,  or 
mere  repetitions  of  each  other.     The  best  editions  of 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  205 

the  apocryphal  gospels  are  the  two  following,  to  wit, 
that  by  Thilo,  published  at  Halle  in  1832,  who  gives 
twelve  ;  and  that  by  Tischendorf,  published  at  Leipsic 
in  1854,  who  gives  twenty-two.  Not  all  of  them, 
however,  can  with  propriety  be  called  gospels.  Ma- 
homet derives  his  idea  of  Christ  almost  entirely  from 
the  apocryphal  gospels,  not  at  all  trom  the  genuine. 

THE  APOCRYPHAL  GOSPELS. 

Not  more  than  seven  of  these  now  remain,  which 
are  worthy  of  notice,  three  of  them  in  the  Greek 
language,  two  in  the  Latin,  and  two  in  the  Arabia 
They  are  the  following : 

1.  The  Protevcmgelium  of  James  the  brother  of  the 
Lord,  of  which  the  full  original  title  is  this :  Declara- 
tion and  history  hoio  the  most  holy  mother  of  God  tvas 
horn  for  our  salvation.  This  seems  to  be  the  most 
ancient  and  valuable  of  these  books ;  it  was  first  made 
known  in  Europe  by  W.  Postel,  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  was  published  by  Fabricius 
in  his  Codex  Apoc.  Nov.  Test.  The  principal  part  of 
it  is  occupied  (cap.  1-20)  with  the  history  of  the  birth 
and  childhood  of  Mary,  and  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  birth  of  Christ.  Then  follows  briefly  and 
much  in  the  manner  of  our  Gospels  (cap.  21,  22)  the 
visit  of  the  Magi  and  the  flight  into  Egypt ;  and  it 
concludes  (cap.  23,  24)  with  an  extended  description 
of  the  murder  of  Zachariah,  the  father  of  John  the 
Baptist.  The  style  of  this  gospel  is  far  more  simple 
and  pure  than  that  of  any  other  of  these  apocrjq^hal 
narratives,  though  in  this  respect,  as  in  all  others,  it  is 
immeasurably  below  the  canonical  books.    Some  things 


206  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

mentioned  in  it  are  alluded  to  by  Justin  Martyr  and 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  and  the  book  is  expressly 
quoted  by  Origen.  It  was  in  existence,  at  least  a  part 
of  it,  as  early  as  the  third  century,  though  it  was  much 
later  than  that,  before  it  was  ascribed  to  the  brother 
of  our  Lord^  or  took  the  title  of  Frotevangeluim.  It 
was  for  a  long  time  held  in  high  estimation  by  the 
Greek  church,  and  publicly  read  at  their  festivals, 
especially  those  which  pertained  to  Mary.  Very  prob- 
ably many  of  the  early  church  traditions  respecting 
Mary  are  preserved  in  it ;  and  in  this  respect  it  may 
gratify  a  curiosity  for  which  the  canonical  Gospels 
make  very  little  provision. 

2.  The  Greek  Gospel  of  Thomas.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  extravagant  of  the  apocryphal  books,  and  pro- 
fesses to  give  a  minute  account  of  Jesus  from  the  fifth 
to  the  twelfth  year  of  his  age.  It  is  filled  with  mira- 
cles which  are  wholly  ridiculous,  and  some  of  them 
decidedly  immoral  and  malevolent.  The  beginning 
and  close  of  the  book  are  very  fragmentary.  Irenaeus 
(adv.  Haer.  i.  17)  refers  to  some  things  contained  in 
the  book,  and  Origen  (Hom.  in  Luc.  i.)  expressly  men- 
tions it.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  probability  that  it 
was  written  by  Thomas  the  apostle.  It  is  evidently  of 
heretical  origin,  and  was  highly  esteemed  and  in  great 
use  among  the  Manichaeans.  It  is  probably  of  con- 
siderably later  date  than  the  preceding  one,  and  its 
Greek  style  is  very  impure. 

3.  The  Greek  Gospel  of  Nicodemus.  This,  next  to 
the  Protevangelium^  is  the  most  important  and  respect- 
able, as  well  as  the  most  widely  circulated  of  the  apoc- 
ryphal gospels.     It  is  divided  into  two  unequal  parts, 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  207 

which  seem  origmally  to  have  been  separate  works. 
The  first  part  (cap.  1-1 6)  contains  a  minute  description 
of  the  examination  of  Jesus  before  Pilate,  and  of  his 
crucifixion  and  resurrection,  and  appears  to  be  a  re- 
modelling and  amplification  of  certain  epistles  and  acts 
of  Pilate^  which  are  very  early  mentioned,  but  have 
not  come  down  to  us  in  a  reliable  shape.  (See  Justin 
Martyr,  Apol.  i.  76,  84;  Tertull.  Apol.  21 ;  Oros.  Hist, 
vii.  4;  Euseb  H.  E.  ii.  2.)  It  is  probably  of  Jewish- 
Christian  origin,  and  written  for  the  purpose  of  affect- 
ing unbelieving  Jews  by  the  example  of  Annas  and 
Caiaphas,  who,  it  alleges,  were  converted  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea. 

The  second  part  (cap.  19-27)  describes  Christ's  de- 
scent into  Hades  and  the  wonderful  things  he  accom- 
plished there.  This  is  apparently  more  modern  than 
the  first  part.  Some  Latin  manuscripts  have  an  addi- 
tional chapter,  in  which  Annas  and  Caiaphas  make 
oath  before  Pilate  that  they  are  convinced,  from  all 
the  testimony,  that  the  Jesus,  condemned  and  executed 
at  their  instigation,  is  truly  the  Son  of  God.  There 
are  also  printed  with  it,  by  Thilo,  letters  of  Pilate  to 
the  emperors  Claudius  and  Tiberius. 

The  book,  in  its  present  form,  can  not  have  been 
earlier  than  the  fifth  century,  and  was  probably  much 
later.  It  is  not  expressly  mentioned  until  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  prologue,  which  states  that  it  was  writ- 
ten in  the  Hebrew  language  by  Nicodemus  in  the  time 
of  Christ,  and  translated  into  Greek  by  a  Jewish 
Christian,  named  Ananias,  during  the  reign  of  the 
emperor  Theodosius,  is  evidently  a  mere  fiction.  The 
book  was  held  in  high  esteem  during  the  middle  ages, 


208  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

and  before  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing  it  had 
been  translated  into  Latin,  Gaelic,  Anglo-Saxon,  Ger- 
man and  French. 

4.  The  Latin  Gospel  of  the  Nativity  of  Mary.  This 
probably  belongs  to  the  sixth  century.  The  prologue, 
which  states  that  it  was  written  by  Matthew,  and  trans- 
lated into  Latin  by  Jerome,  deserves  no  regard.  It 
goes  over  the  same  ground  as  the  Protevangelium  ;  but 
is  more  minute  as  to  the  birth  of  Mary,  and  more  con- 
densed on  the  other  points. 

5.  The  Latin  History  of  the  Nativity  of  Mary  and 
of  the  Infancy  of  the  Saviour.  The  first  part  (cap.  1- 
17)  from  the  annunciation  of  Mary  to  the  Bethlehem 
massacre,  follows  mainly  the  Protevangelium^  though 
with  considerable  variations  and  amplifications ;  while 
the  latter  part,  the  childhood  of  the  Saviour,  is  more 
like  the  apocryphal  books  which  we  find  in  the  Arabic 
language. 

6.  The  Arabic  History  of  Josejjh  the  Carpenter.  In 
this  book,  Christ  is  introduced  as  discoursing  with  his 
disciples,  and  gives  them  a  long  and  marvelous  account 
of  the  life,  death  and  burial  of  Joseph.  Its  Arabic 
style  has  an  air  of  antiquity  about  it,  though  it  is  some- 
what bombastic.  It  seems  to  be  the  product  of  a  Jew- 
ish Christian,  and  a  translation  from  the  Hebrew.  It 
may  possibly,  in  its  present  form,  be  as  early  as  the 
third  or  fourth  century. 

7.  The  Arabic  Gospel  of  the  Childhood  of  the  Re- 
deemer. This  book  was  in  high  esteem  among  the 
Nestorians,  and  may  have  been  the  product  of  some 
'Nestorian  Christian  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  and 
originally  written  in  Syriac.    Cap.  1-9  relates  minutely 


lilffl'iiilli: 


iU:  "  Hi'         •      l''llll 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  209 

the  birth  of  Christ;  10-26  the  flight  into  Egypt,  and 
the  wonderful  miracles  wrought  by  his  presence,  his 
cJothes,  the  water  in  which  he  had  been  washed,  etc. ; 
27-35  another  course  of  miracles  through  the  instiga- 
tion of  Mary;  36-49  miracles  wrought  by  the  boy  of 
his  own  accord,  all  of  them  childish,  some  of  them 
obscene;  and  cap.  50  relates  a  visit  made  to  the  tern 
pie  at  Jerusalem. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  APOCRYPHAL  GOSPELS. 

Having  thus  given  an  account  of  these  books,  it 
remains  that  we  present  an  outline  of  their  contents,  in 
order  to  afford  opportunity  for  a  comparison  between 
them  and  the  genuine.  To  avoid  repetition,  it  will  be 
most  convenient  to  do  this  in  the  form  which  Ullmann 
has  adopted  in  the  work  above  referred  to,  namely,  by 
grouping  into  one  view  what  is  said  in  the  different 
l)ooks  respecting  the  same  person  or  subject.  Each 
subject,  however,  has  some  one  book  particularly  de- 
voted to  it,  so  that  an  analysis  of  a  subject  is  generally 
the  analysis  of  a  book.     We  begin  with 

Joseph.  According  to  the  Arabic  History  of  Joseph 
(No.  6),  Christ,  seated  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples 
on  the  mount  of  Olives,  relates  for  substance  the  fol- 
lowing story:  "Joseph,  well  acquainted  with  the  arts 
and  sciences,  was  a  priest  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord ; 
but  he  pursued  his  carpenter's  trade,  and  lived,  even 
in  Egypt,  by  the  labor  of  his  hands,  that,  according 
to  the  law,  he  might  not,  for  his  support,  be  charge- 
able to  any  one.  He  was  highly  distinguished,  not 
only  by  his  intellectual  qualities,  but  also  by  the  phys- 
ical ;  he  never  suffered  fi'om  weakness,  his  sight  never 
14 


210  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

failed,  he  never  lost  a  tooth  nor  had  the  toothache,  ho 
never  lost  his  presence  of  mind,  he  always  walked 
erect,  ho  never  had  a  pain  in  his  limbs,  and  was  always 
fresh  and  cheerful  for  labor.  He  lived  to  be  a  hun- 
dred and  twelve  years  old,  and  it  was  not  till  near  the 
close  of  his  life  that  he  felt  any  diminution  of  the  live- 
liness and  vigor  of  his  mind  or  body,  or  lost  in  any 
deo-ree  his  interest  in  his  handicraft.  An  ano-el  an- 
nounced  to  him  his  approaching  death.  He  prayed 
God  not  to  permit  frightful-looking  demons  to  come 
in  his  way,  nor  the  gate-keepers  of  paradise  to  obstruct 
the  entering  in  of  his  soul,  nor  the  lions  to  rush  upon 
him,  nor  the  waves  of  the  fiery  sea,  through  which 
his  soul  must  pass,  to  overwhelm  him,  before  he  had 
seen  the  glory  of  God.  In  the  anguish  of  death  Jo- 
seph cursed  himself,  his  life,  the  day  of  his  birth,  the 
breasts  he  had  sucked ;  he  heaped  up  all  kinds  of  ac- 
cusations against  himself,  besides  original  sin,  all  kinds 
of  actual  sin,  untruthfulness,  hypocrisy,  reproach  ful- 
ness, fraud,  and  many  others.  In  this  distress  he  calls 
upon  Jesus,  the  Nazarene,  as  his  Saviour  and  deliverer, 
his  Lord  and  God,  begs  his  pardon  that  he,  through 
ignorance,  had  sinned  against  the  mystery  of  his  mirac- 
ulous birth  by  an  unworthy  suspicion,  and  then  con- 
cludes, '  0  my  Lord  and  God,  be  not  angry,  and  con- 
demn me  not  on  account  of  that  hour ;  I  am  thy  serv- 
ant, and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid,  and  thou  art  my 
Lord,  my  God  and  Saviour,  the  Son  of  God  in  truth.' 
This  earnest  prayer  of  Joseph  not  to  be  forsaken,  being 
satisfactory,  Jesus  laid  his  hand  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
dying  man,  and  perceived  that  his  soul  was  about  to 
flee  out  of  his  mouth ;  and  from  the  south  he  sees 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  211 

death  and  hell  approaching  with  their  fiery  troop  ;  and 
then,  at  his  prayer,  the  archangels  Michael  and  Gabriel 
appear,  receive  the  soul  of  Joseph,  enfold  it  in  a 
lustrous  garment,  and  protect  it  from  the  demons 
of  darkness,  which  are  found  on  the  way.  At  the 
lamentations  of  the  family,  Nazareth  and  Galilee  come 
together  and  take  part  in  the  mourning.  Jesus  utters 
a  prayer  which  he  had  composed  before  he  was  born 
of  Mary,  and  as  soon  as  he  says  'Amen,'  a  multitude  of 
the  heavenly  host  draws  near ;  he  commands  one  of 
them  to  spread  out  a  resplendent  shroud,  and  therein 
enwrap  the  body  of  Joseph.  Then  he  blessed  the 
dead  ;  no  smell  of  death  should  proceed  from  him,  no 
worm  should  touch  him,  no  limb  should  be  decom- 
posed, no  hair  should  Ml  from  his  head ;  but  he  should 
remain  entire  and  uninjured  till  the  millennial  feast. 
Afterwards  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  city 
come  to  array  Joseph  in  his  grave-clothes,  but  they 
can  not  remove  from  him  the  linen  garment ;  so  closely 
and  immovably  does  it  adhere  to  his  body,  that  they 
can  not  find  a  single  fold  by  which  they  can  seize  hold 
of  it." 

The  apostles,  to  whom  Jesus  relates  all  this,  only 
wonder  that  Joseph,  the  just  one,  whom  Jesus  calls 
his  father,  whose  festival  by  the  command  of  Jesus  all 
the  world  must  annually  celebrate,  was  not,  by  the 
miraculous  power  of  Jesus,  made  immortal,  like  Enocli 
and  Elijah.  To  this  Jesus  replies,  that  by  Adam  all 
men  without  exception,  who  descended  from  him,  are 
made  mortal — that  this  is  the  fate  which  even  Enoch 
and  Elijah,  who  as  yet  retain  their  bodies,  will  experi- 
ence at  the  final  consummation,  when  four  wiU  be  slain 


212  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

by  Anti-Christ,  namely,  Enoch  and  Elijah,  Shilo  and 
Tabitha. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  book  the  celebration  of 
Joseph's  festival  is  most  earnestly  enjoined,  as  also  the 
copying  and  circulating  of  this  history  of  Joseph. 
Whoever,  on  the  festival  of  Joseph,  distributes  alms, 
or  offers  gifts  and  prayers,  shall  be  rewarded  thirty, 
sixty,  and  a  hundred  fold ;  whoever  copies  the  history 
of  his  life,  him  will  Christ  commend  to  the  special  pro- 
tection of  God  for  perfect  absolution ;  the  poor,  who 
have  nothing  to  give,  must  at  least  give  the  name  of 
Joseph  to  a  new  born  son,  and  thus  protect  him  from 
poverty  and  sudden  death;  and  finally,  as  Christ  in 
the  canonical  Gospels  says,  "  Go  and  teach  all  nations," 
so  here  he  says,  "  Proclaim  to  them  the  death  of  my 
father  Joseph,  celebrate  his  birth  with  a  yearly  festi- 
val ;  and  he  who  adds  to  this  word  or  takes  from  it,  is 
guilty  of  sin." 

In  reading  such  a  gospel  as  this,  what  a  totally  dif- 
ferent atmosphere  we  breathe  from  that  of  the  canoni- 
cal Gospels!  We  are  transported  at  once  to  another 
age,  to  a  different  planet,  to  a  totally  diverse  world 
of  ideas.  It  is  as  different  from  the  New  Testament 
Gospels  as  Jack  the  Giant-killer  Is  from  Bunyan's  Pil- 
crrim's  Prog-ress.  Yet  it  was  written  in  or  near  the 
same  country  as  the  canonical  Gospels,  and  probably 
not  many  generations  later. 

Mary.  Here  we  derive  our  information  mainly 
from  the  book  already  quoted  (No.  6),  from  the  Pro- 
tevangelium  (No.  I),  from  the  Gospel  of  the  Nativity 
of  Mary  (No.  4),  and  from  the  History  of  the  Nativity 
of  Mary  (No.  5).     In  the  History  of  Joseph  (No.  6), 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  213 

Jesus  makes  the  following  statements  respecting  his 
mother,  namely,  that  when  she  was  three  years  old  she 
was  brought  into  the  temple  and  remained  there  nine 
years,  till  she  was  twelve.  At  the  close  of  this  period, 
on  consultation  with  the  priests,  that  the  change  of 
constitution  might  not  occur  to  her  in  the  temple,  and 
thereby  God  be  incensed,  it  was  resolved  to  give  her 
to  a  just  and  pious  man.  Twelve  venerable  men  from 
the  tribe  of  Judah  were  called  together,  and  the  lot 
cast,  by  which  she  was  given  to  Joseph,  who  took  her 
away.  With  Joseph  Mary  found  children  of  a  former 
marriage,  among  them  James,  whom  she  brought  up, 
and  thence  she  was  called  the  mother  of  James.  In 
the  fourteenth  year  of  Mary's  age,  Christ,  with  the  ap- 
probation of  the  Father,  and  the  concurrence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  accomplished  through  her  his  incarnation, 
being  born  in  a  mysterious  way  which  no  created  be- 
ing can  understand.  The  birth,  on  account  of  which 
Joseph  went  with  Mary  to  Bethlehem,  occurred  in  that 
prophetic  city  in  a  cave  near  the  grave  of  Rachel. 
Satan  informed  Herod  of  it,  and  this  occasioned  the 
persecution  and  flight  into  Egypt.  Says  Jesus  :  "  Then 
Joseph  arose  and  took  my  mother,  and  I  rested  in  her 
bosom,  and  Salome  accompanied  us  on  our  journey  to 
Egypt."  The  family  remained  in  Egypt  a  year,  and 
Jesus  relates  all  the  circumstances,  as  if  he  had  the 
most  perfect  recollection  of  them. 

The  account  of  Mary  in  the  Protevangelium  is  far 
more  minute  and  circumstantial.  In  this  narrative  she 
is  in  a  miraculous  manner  promised  to  her  parents, 
Joachim  and  Anna,  who  had  long  been  childless,  and 
mourned  and  suffered  much  on  that  account.     When 


214  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Mary  was  six  months  old,  her  mother  put  her  on  the 
floor  to  see  whether  she  could  stand,  and  she  walked 
seven  steps  and  then  came  back  to  the  arms  of  her 
mother.  In  her  third  year  she  was  brought  into  the 
temple  attended  by  a  company  of  pure  virgins,  and 
was  received  by  the  high  priest  with  the  eulogistic 
words  :  '^  Mary,  the  Lord  hath  exalted  thy  name  among 
all  generations,  and  in  the  last  days  God  will  reveal  to 
thee  the  treasures  of  his  redemption  for  the  sons  of 
Israel."  Then  the  high  priest  placed  her  on  the  third 
step  of  the  altar,  and  she  sprang  upon  her  feet  and  the 
whole  house  of  Israel  loved  her.  Mary  was  now 
brought  up  like  a  dove  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and 
received  her  food  from  the  hand  of  an  angel.  By  a 
revelation  made  to  the  high  priest,  at  twelve  years  of 
age  she  must  be  betrothed  to  an  Israelite  for  her  pro- 
tection, and  this  her  protector  must  be  pointed  out  by 
a  divine  token.  All  the  widowers  of  the  people  were 
to  come  together  with  their  staves ;  and  he  on  whose 
staff  the  sign  appeared,  was  to  take  her  away.  A 
dove  flew  out  from  the  staff  of  Joseph,  the  last  one, 
and  rested  upon  his  head ;  and  then,  notwithstanding 
his  reluctance,  Mary  was  given  to  him. 

When  Mary  first  went  out  to  draw  water,  she  heard 
a  voice :  "  Hail,  thou  favored  one,  the  Lord  is  with 
thee,  blessed  art  thou  among  women."  She  looked 
about  her  to  the  right  and  left  to  see  whence  the  voice 
proceeded ;  and  when  she  returned  to  the  house,  the 
angel  of  the  Loi'd  met  her,  and  announced  to  her 
that  she  would  be  the  mother  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Joseph,  when  he  sometime  after  returned  from  his 
work,  was  exceedingly  shocked  at  the  appearance  of 


B  K  T  II  L  E  H  E  M  . 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  215 

Maiy,  and  broke  out  into  the  most  bitter  complaints 
against  her,  both  on  her  account  and  on  his  own.  She 
resolutely  asserted  her  purity.  The  affair  came  to  the 
ears  of  the  high  priest,  who  called  them  before  him 
and  loaded  them  with  reproaches.  Mary  affirmed  that 
she  was  pure,  and  Joseph  that  he  was  innocent ;  and 
they  both  passed  the  ordeal  by  drinking  the  water  of 
proof,  and  with  a  result  so  clear  that  the  high  priest 
acquitted  them.  Soon  after,  on  account  of  the  enroll- 
ment, they  took  their  journey  to  Bethlehem ;  and  on 
the  way  Joseph,  perceiving  that  Mary  is  sometimes  sad 
and  sometimes  laughing,  inquires  of  her  the  cause. 
She  answers :  "  I  see  two  nations  before  mine  eyes,  the 
one  sighing  and  weeping,  the  other  exulting  and  laugh- 
ing." When  the  time  of  her  delivery  drew  near, 
Joseph  placed  her  in  a  cave  and  went  out  to  seek  a 
nurse.  And  here  for  a  few  sentences  we  will  give  the 
narrative  literally  as  it  is  contained  in  the  gospel. 

"  As  I  was  going  (said  Joseph)  I  looked  up  into 
the  air  and  I  saw  the  clouds  astonished,  and  the  fowls 
of  the  air  stopping  in  the  midst  of  their  flight.  And 
I  looked  down  towards  the  earth,  and  I  saw  a  table 
spread,  and  working  people  sitting  around  it,  but  their 
hands  were  upon  the  table  and  they  did  not  move  to 
eat.  They  who  had  meat  in  their  mouths  did  not  eat, 
they  who  lifted  their  hands  to  the  table  did  not  draw 
them  back,  and  they  who  lifted  them  up  to  their 
mouths,  did  not  put  anything  in,  but  all  their  faces 
were  fixed  upwards.  And  I  beheld  there  sheep  dis- 
persed, and  yet  the  sheep  stood  still,  and  the  shepherd 
lifted  up  his  hand  to  smite  them,  and  his  hand  contin- 
ued up.     And  I  looked  into  the  river,  and  saw  the 


216  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

kids  with  their  mouths  close  to  the  water,  and  touch- 
ing it,  but  they  did  not  drink.  Then  I  beheld  a  wo- 
man coming  down  from  the  mountains,  and  she  said  to 
me,  '  Whither  art  thou  going,  0  man  ?  '  And  I  said 
to  her,  '  I  go  to  inquire  for  a  Hebrew  midwife.'  She 
replied  to  me,  '  Where  is  the  woman  that  is  to  be  de- 
livered ?  '  And  I  answered,  '  In  the  cave,  and  she  is 
betrothed  to  me.'  Then  said  the  midwife,  'Is  she  not 
thy  wife  ?  '  Joseph  answered,  '  It  is  Mary,  who  was 
educated  in  the  holy  of  holies,  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  she  fell  to  me  by  lot,  and  is  not  my  wife, 
but  hath  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'  The  midwife 
said,  'Is  this  true?'  He  answered,  '  Come  and  see.' 
And  the  midwife  went  along  with  him  and  stood  in 
the  cave.  Then  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  the 
cave,  and  the  midwife  said,  '  This  day  my  soul  is  mag- 
nified, for  mine  eyes  have  seen  surprising  things,  and 
salvation  is  brought  forth  to  Israel.'  But  on  a  sudden 
the  cloud  became  a  great  light  in  the  cave,  so  that 
their  eyes  could  not  bear  it.  But  the  light  gradually 
decreased,  until  the  infant  appeared  and  sucked  the 
breast  of  his  mother  Mary.  Then  the  midwife  cried 
out  and  said,  'How  glorious  a  day  is  this,  wherein 
mine  eyes  have  seen  this  extraordinary  sight !  '  And 
the  midwife  went  out  of  the  cave,  and  Salome  met 
her.  And  the  midwife  said  to  her,  '  Salome,  Salome, 
I  will  tell  you  a  most  surprising  thing  which  I  saw. 
A  virgin  hath  brought  forth,  which  is  a  thing  contrary 
to  nature.'  To  which  Salome  replied,  'As  the  Lord 
my  God  liveth,  unless  I  receive  particular  proof  of 
this  matter  I  wDl  not  believe  that  a  virgin  hath  brought 
forth.' " 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  217 

The  narrative  goes  on  to  inform  iis  that  Salome  enter- 
ed the  cave,  and  proceeded  to  examine  that  she  might 
have  demonstration  of  this  wonderful  fact,  when  her 
hand  was  seized  with  a  blazing  fire  and  excruciating 
pain ;  and  it  was  only  by  earnest  prayer  and  the  inter- 
position of  a  miracle,  an  angel  directing  her  to  take 
the  child  in  her  arms,  that  she  was  rescued. 

The  Latin  Gosjjel  of  the  Birth  of  Mary  (No.  4)  is 
similar  to  the  preceding,  but  has  some  things  peculiar 
to  itself  According  to  this,  as  many  of  the  greatest 
and  most  holy  persons  were  born  of  mothers  before 
unfruitful,  such  was  the  case  also  with  Mary.  She  was 
promised  to  her  mother  Anna  as  a  special  gift  of  God, 
by  an  angel,  who  also  predicted  her  course  of  life. 
In  her  third  year,  having  been  taken  by  her  parents  to 
the  temple,  without  a  leader  she  walked  up  the  steps 
like  an  adult ;  and  hereby  the  Lord  indicated  her  future 
destination.  During  her  residence  in  the  temple,  she 
was  daily  visited  by  angels  and  enjoyed  the  visions  of 
God,  whereby  she  was  protected  from  all  evil  and  filled 
with  all  good.  In  her  fourteenth  year,  by  the  direc- 
tion of  the  priest,  she  with  her  companions  were  to  be 
betrothed.  They  consented,  but  Mary  resisted  because 
she  had  vowed  perpetual  virginity.  The  priest  in 
perplexity  asked  for  a  divine  oracle,  and  was  pointed 
to  Isaiah  xi.  1.  In  order  now  to  espouse  her  to  some 
one,  he  called  together  all  the  unmarried  men  of  the 
house  of  David.  They  were  to  appear  with  their 
staves ;  and  he  whose  staff  should  blossom,  or  upon 
which  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  should  rest  in  the  form 
of  a  dove,  should  be  aifianced  to  the  virgin  and  take 
her  under  his  protection.     The  decision  was  in  favor 


218  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  Joseph,  for  a  dove  came  from  heaven  and  seated 
itself  upon  his  staff.  During  her  residence  in  the 
house  of  Joseph,  the  angel  of  tlie  annunciation  ap- 
peared to  her  and  she  at  once  recognized  him  as  a 
heavenly  messenger,  for  she  had  already  become  famil- 
iar with  such  appearances.  The  angel  promised  to  her 
a  son,  whom  she  would  conceive  and  bring  into  the 
world  without  sin  and  with  virginity  intact.  Mary 
wished  to  know  how  this  were  possible ;  and  the 
ano'el  informed  her  that  it  would  be  without  the  aid 
of  man,  solely  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  power  of 
the  Most  High. 

The  same  general  features  pervade  the  other  History 
of  the  Nativity  of  Mary  (No.  5),  though  with  enlarge- 
ments and  additions,  and  still  greater  extravagances. 
According  to  this,  Mary,  when  three  years  old,  was 
like  an  adult ;  her  face  glistened  like  the  snow,  so  that 
one  could  scarcely  look  at  it ;  she  busied  herself  with 
all  the  labors  appropriate  to  woman,  but  especially 
with  prayer,  in  which  she  continued  from  early  dawn 
till  the  third  hour  of  the  day,  and  then  again  from  the 
ninth  hour  onward,  till  there  appeared  to  her  the  an- 
gel of  the  Lord,  from  whose  hand  she  received  her 
food,  in  order  that  she  might  daily  grow  in  the  love 
of  God.  Never  was  virgin  more  pious,  more  pure, 
more  virtuous,  more  lovely,  better  instructed  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  divine  law ;  she  was  firm,  always  equa- 
ble, immovable,  constantly  increasing  in  goodness. 
She  took  care  for  her  companions,  that  none  of  them 
should  fail  in  word,  or  laugh  aloud,  or  do  anything 
wrong.  She  lived  only  on  angelic  food ;  the  provisions 
which  she  received  from  the  priests  in  the  temple  she 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  219 

distributed  among  the  poor.  When  a  sick  person 
touched  her,  he  returned  well  to  his  house.  Fre- 
quently angels  were  seen  waiting  upon  her  and  talk- 
ing with  her. 

In  the  choice  of  a  husband  for  her,  three  thousand 
men  came  together  and  deposited  their  staves  with  the 
high  priest.  Joseph,  who  was  highly  esteemed  as  an 
elder,  would  not  take  his  staff  again ;  but  the  high 
priest  Abiathar  called  after  him  with  a  loud  voice,  and 
when  he  received  his  staff,  out  of  the  top  of  it  there 
came  a  dove,  whiter  than  snow,  and  of  great  beauty, 
which  flew  a  long  time  about  the  pinnacles  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  then  soared  away  to  heaven.  Joseph  took 
Mary,  and  also  five  other  virgins  to  whom  the  high 
priest  had  assigned  work,  namely,  Rebecca,  Sephiphora, 
Susanna,  Abigail,  and  Zabel.  Mary  obtained  by  lot 
the  most  honorable  work,  namely,  the  sewing  of  pur- 
ple for  curtains  of  the  temple ;  and  on  this  account, 
the  other  virgins  called  her  the  queen.  On  the  third 
day,  while  about  her  usual  employment,  an  angel  of 
wonderful  beauty  appeared  to  her,  and  made  to  her 
the  annunciation,  etc.,  etc. 

Contrast  all  this  fanfaronade  of  childishness,  super- 
stition and  foolery,  with  the  few  brief,  simple,  and 
rigidly  common-sense  notices  of  Mary,  which  we  find 
in  the  four  canonical  Gospels.  Can  any  two  kinds  of 
writing  be  more  utterly  unlike  ? 

Christ.  We  next  turn  our  attention  to  the  account 
which  these  books  give  of  Christ  himself  Here  the 
contrast  between  them  and  the  canonical  Gospels 
appears,  if  possible,  in  still  stronger  colors.  There  is 
nothing  of  the  Christ  whom  we  find  in  the  New  Testa- 


220  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

merit.  All  is  puerile,  bizarre,  extravagant.  The  real 
dignity,  the  steady  benevolence,  the  unvarying  good 
sense  of  the  New  Testament  Christ,  are  wholly  un- 
known. The  periods  of  life  selected,  and  the  topics 
treated,  are  wholly  different  from  those  of  the  New 
Testament. 

Infancy  and  Cldldhood  of  Christ  These  topics  oc- 
cur in  but  two  of  the  canonical  Gospels,  and  are  there 
treated  very  briefly ;  but  they  make  the  great  staple 
of  the  apocryphal  gospels,  and  are  drawn  out  to  a 
most  wearisome  length.  The  most  minute  and  char- 
acteristic of  these  narratives  is  the  Arabic  Gospel  of 
the  Childhood  of  the  Redeemer.  According  to  this 
book,  while  the  child  Jesus  was  lying  in  his  cradle  he 
said  to  his  mother,  "I,  whom  thou  hast  brought  forth, 
am  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Logos,  as  the  angel  Ga- 
briel announced  to  thee ;  and  I  am  sent  by  my  Father 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world."  At  his  birth  his  pa- 
rents are  in  a  cave,  amid  the  splendor  of  lights  which 
shine  more  brightly  than  the  light  of  the  sun.  The 
woman  called  in  by  Joseph,  as  soon  as  she  saw  that 
Mary  was  the  mother,  exclaimed,  "  Thou  art  not  like 
the  daughters  of  Eve;  "  to  which  Mary  replied:  "As 
none  among  the  children  is  like  my  child,  so  his  mother 
has  not  her  like  among  women."  Mary  allows  the 
nurse  to  lay  her  hands  on  the  child,  and  thus  are  they 
made  clean.  The  child  is  circumcised  in  the  cave,  and 
the  Hebrew  woman  preserves  the  foreskin  in  a  vessel 
of  spikenard,  the  same  vessel  from  which  afterwards 
Mary  the  sinner  anointed  the  head  and  feet  of  the 
Lord.  To  the  Magi,  who  came  in  consequence  of  a 
prophesy  of  Zoroaster,  Mary  gave  one  of  the  swad- 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  221 

dling  cloths  in  which  the  child  had  been  wrapped,  and 
they  received  it  as  the  choicest  treasure.  On  their 
return  home,  they  held  a  festival,  and,  according  to 
their  custom  in  religious  worship,  kindled  a  fire,  and 
into  it  they  threw  the  bandage,  which,  however,  re- 
mained unscorched,  as  if  the  fire  had  not  touched  it. 
They  kissed  it,  spread  it  over  their  heads  and  eyes, 
and  said,  "  This  is  an  undoubted  truth,  verily  it  is  a 
great  thing  that  the  fire  can  not  destroy  it."  And  they 
took  the  bandage,  and  with  great  reverence  preserved 
it  in  their  treasury. 

Next  comes  the  narrative  of  the  journey  into  Egypt, 
and  a  loose,  disconnected  story  of  the  strangest  and 
most  trivial  miracles.  The  holy  family  come  to  a  city 
which  is  the  abode  of  the  most  distinguished  god  in 
the  land ;  and  the  moment  they  take  lodgings  in  a 
public  house,  there  is  great  excitement  among  the  citi- 
zens, and  they  flock  to  their  god  to  learn  the  cause. 
He  replies,  "An  unknown  God  has  arrived  here,  and 
he  is  God  in  truth ;  and  besides  him  there  is  no  one 
worthy  to  be  worshipped,  for  he  is  indeed  the  Son  of 
God."  In  that  same  hour  the  idol  fell  to  pieces,  and 
at  his  fall  came  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  with  the 
other  citizens  running  together;  and  a  son  of  the 
priest,  three  years  old,  who  was  possessed  of  many 
devils,  being  seized  with  his  frenzy,  ran  to  the  public 
house,  where  Mary  was  washing  and  drying  her  child's 
linen,  one  piece  of  which  the  demoniac  boy  caught 
down  and  placed  upon  his  head,  when  immediately 
the  devils  came  out  of  his  mouth  and  fled  away  in  the 
form  of  rams  and  snakes. 

The  holy  family,  proceeding  on  their  journey,  came 


222  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

to  a  den  of  robbers ;  «and  the  robbers  hearing  a  noise, 
and  supposing  the  king  to  be  approaching  with  an 
army,  took  to  flight,  leaving  behind  them  their  booty 
and  their  prisoners.  The  prisoners  stood  up  and  be- 
gan to  break  off  each  other's  fetters,  and  were  about 
to  depart  with  their  property,  when,  seeing  the  holy 
family  drawing  near  them,  they  asked  Joseph  what 
king  it  was  whose  perceived  approach  had  put  the  rob- 
bers to  flight.  Joseph  replied,  "  He  is  coming  behind 
us."  In  the  city  to  which  they  came  next,  there  met 
them  a  demoniac  woman,  who  could  neither  live  in  a 
house  nor  endure  clothing ;  but  the  very  sight  of  Mary 
so  completely  pacified  her,  that  the  devil  fled  from  her 
in  the  form  of  a  young  man.  In  another  city  there 
was  a  nuptial  ceremony,  but  by  the  influence  of  Satan 
and  the  magicians,  the  bride  was  dumb.  She  took  the 
Christ-child  in  her  arms,  folded  him  to  her  bosom  and 
kissed  him,  when  immediately  the  band  of  her  tongue 
was  loosed.  They  spent  a  night  in  another  city,  where 
was  a  woman  whom  Satan,  in  the  form  of  a  serpent, 
was  accustomed  to  overpower  and  embrace ;  but  she 
took  the  child  in  her  arms  and  kissed  him,  and  was 
thus  delivered  from  Satan's  power.  This  same  woman 
the  next  day  washed  the  child  Jesus  in  perfumed 
water,  which  she  kept.  A  girl  whose  body  was  white 
with  leprosy,  being  sprinkled  with  the  water,  became 
entirely  well.  The  people  said,  "Doubtless  Joseph 
and  Mary  and  their  child  are  gods,  for  they  do  not 
seem  to  be  mortals."  The  maiden  who  was  healed, 
now  attended  them,  and  by  the  wash-water  which  had 
cured  her,  she  now  performed  many  miracles;  as,  foi- 
example,  she  cured   the  young  son  of  a  prince  wlm 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  223 

had  been  leprous  from  his  birth.  They  came  to  an- 
other city  to  spend  the  night,  and  put  up  at  the  house 
of  a  man  recently  married,  but,  in  consequence  of 
some  poison  in  his  system,  he  was  unable  to  consum- 
mate his  marriage.  The  presence  of  the  child  Jesus 
entirely  cured  him  of  his  infirmity,  and  he  constrained 
them  to  stop  the  next  day  and  feast  with  him. 

The  holy  family  then  met  three  ladies  in  distress  for 
their  brother,  who  by  magic  had  been  transformed 
into  a  mule,  and  they  were  taking  care  of  him  very 
tenderly  in  this  form.  Mary  placed  the  child  on  the 
mule  and  said,  "  0  my  son,  by  thy  great  power  restore 
this  mule  and  make  him  what  he  was  before,  a  rational 
being ;  "  whereupon  the  mule  immediately  became  a 
beautiful  young  man,  and  afterwards  married  the 
maiden  before  referred  to,  who  had  been  dispossessed 
of  the  devil,  and  was  then  attending  them.  The  follow- 
ing night  they  came  upon  an  encampment  of  robbers 
under  two  leaders,  Titus  and  Dumachus.  The  first  by 
a  gift  restrained  the  other  from  attacking  the  holy 
family,  for  which  Mary  blessed  him,  and  Jesus 
said,  "  Thirty  years  from  now  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem 
will  crucify  me  and  the  two  robbers  with  me,  Titus  on 
my  right  hand  and  Dumachus  on  my  left ;  and  on  that 
day  Titus  will  go  before  me  into  paradise."  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Matarea,  Jesus  called  forth  a  fount- 
ain in  which  his  mother  washed  his  clothes ;  and  from 
the  perspiration  which  there  fell  from  Jesus,  there 
sprang  up  an  abundance  of  balsam.  They  journeyed 
to  Memphis  and  visited  Pharaoh.  They  abode  in 
Egypt  three  years,  and  Jesus  wrought  many  miracles, 
whicb  are  recorded  neither  in  this  Gospel  of  the  Child- 
hood, nor  in  the  Evangelio  pcrfecto. 


224  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIHLE. 

To  the  above  narrative  we  add  some  incidents  from 
the  Latin  History  of  the  Nativity  of  Mary  and  the  In- 
fancy of  the  Saviour  (No.  5).  According  to  this, 
during  the  flight  to  Egypt,  the  holy  family  rested  neai- 
a  cave,  out  of  which  many  dragons  suddenly  emerged, 
whereupon  Jesus  descended  from  the  lap  of  his  mother, 
and  placed  himself  before  the  monsters,  when  they 
fled,  and  then  turned  and  worshipped  him.  Likewise 
lions  and  leopards  honored  him,  and  even  acted  as  his 
guides.  Lions  mingled  with  the  oxen  and  other  beasts 
of  burden  which  they  had  with  them ;  wolves  associ- 
ated with  the  sheep,  and  they  were  all  equally  peace- 
ful and  harmless.  A  tall  palm  tree,  whose  fruit  was 
beyond  reach,  at  the  command  of  the  child  Jesus, 
bowed  itself  down  to  Mary  and  allowed  her  to  pluck 
its  fruit ;  and  at  a  second  command  it  restored  itself 
to  its  original  position.  From  the  roots  of  this  palm 
Jesus  caused  to  flow  a  spring  of  the  freshest  and  purest 
water.  A  branch  of  the  same  palm,  at  the  command 
of  Jesus,  was  carried  into  paradise  by  the  angels,  there 
to  be  a  sign  of  victory  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Christian 
warfare.  When  the  wanderers  were  oppressed  by 
heat,  Jesus  by  his  word  enabled  them  in  one  day  to 
perform  a  journey  of  thirty  days.  It  is  also  related 
here  that  when  Jesus  entered  a  temple,  the  idols  all 
tumbled  down. 

We  now  return  to  the  Arabic  Gospel  of  the  Child- 
hood (No.  7),  which  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of 
the  return  to  Bethlehem,  and  of  many  miracles  wrought 
by  the  water  in  which  Jesus  had  been  washed.  This 
sprinkled  upon  a  child  enabled  it  to  remain  unhurt  in 
a  burning  oven.     A  sick  child  also  was   healed  by 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  225 

being  put  into  the  bed  of  Jesus  and  covered  with  his 
clothes.  Mary  often  distributed  his  washing-water  as 
a  miraculons  tincture,  and  pieces  of  his  clothing  as 
amulets  against  all  kinds  of  harm.  A  demoniac  boy 
named  Judas,  was  accustomed  in  his  frenzy  to  bite  at 
those  who  were  near  him ;  and  when  he  was  brought 
near  to  Jesus  he  began  to  snap  and  strike  at  him,  but 
Satan  soon  came  out  of  him  in  the  shape  of  a  mad  dog. 
This  was  Judas  Iscariot,  and  the  same  right  side  on 
which  he  struck  at  Jesus,  the  Jews  afterwards  pierced 
with  the  lance. 

Then  follow  miracles  which  belong  to  his  later  child- 
hood, and  which  are  distinguished  from  the  preceding 
in  this  respect,  that  they  are  not  only  performed  by 
the  power  which  dwelt  in  Jesus,  but  with  a  more  defi- 
nite consciousness  and  will  of  his  own.  Once,  in  his 
seventh  year,  he  was  playing  with  other  boys,  and  they 
were  making,  with  clay,  images  of  oxen,  asses,  birds, 
etc.,  and  while  each  was  endeavoring  to  excel  the 
others,  the  child  Jesus  said,  "  The  figures  which  I  have 
made  I  will  command  to  walk."  He  did  so ;  and  to 
the  astonishment  of  the  other  children,  the  clay  images 
walked  oif,  and  returned  at  his  command;  he  then 
made  sparrows  which  flew  about,  obeyed  his  word,  and 
received  food  at  his  hand.  At  another  time,  Jesus 
came  into  the  house  of  Salem  the  dyer,  and  there  were 
clothes  there  which  were  to  receive  different  colors. 
All  these  Jesus  threw  into  one  dye-pot,  whereupon  the 
dyer  coming  in  was  exceedingly  angry ;  but  Jesus 
said  to  him,  "  I  will  give  to  each  piece  of  cloth  the 
color  you  desire ;  "  and  taking  them  out,  each  was 
dyed  as  the  dyer  wished.  Then  the  Jews,  who  saw 
this  sign  and  wonder,  praised  God. 
15 


226  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 

Joseph,  in  his  travels  to  his  work,  was  accustomed 
to  take  the  boy  Jesils  with  him,  and  when  anything 
was  made  too  long  or  too  short,  too  wide  or  too  nar- 
row, (for  he  was  but  a  bungling  carpenter),  the  child 
stretched  his  hands  over  it  and  brought  it  all  right. 
Once  he  had  a  throne  to  make  for  the  king  in  Jerusa- 
lem, and  worked  upon  it  two  years.  When  it  was 
finished,  he  found  it  too  small  for  the  place  where  it 
must  be  put,  and  being  much  cast  down  about  it,  the 
child  Jesus  bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  each  tak- 
ing hold  of  an  end  of  the  throne,  they  pulled  upon  it 
till  it  came  to  the  right  size.  The  throne  was  made 
of  the  figured  wood  which  was  in  use  in  the  time  of 
Solomon.  At  another  time,  the  boys  who  were  playing 
with  him  he  turned  into  little  goats,  and  they  hopped 
about  him  and  honored  him  as  their  shepherd.  The 
women  seeing  this,  cried  out,  "  0  our  Lord  Jesus,  Son 
of  Mary,  thou  art  indeed  the  good  shepherd  of  Israel, 
have  mercy  on  thy  handmaidens."  Then,  at  the  en- 
treaty of  these  women,  he  restored  the  boys  to  their 
proper  shape.  In  the  month  Adar,  Jesus  collected 
the  boys  together,  as  their  king.  With  their  clothes 
they  spread  for  him  a  seat,  they  made  him  a  crown  of 
flowers,  placed  themselves  around  him  as  his  guards, 
and  compelled  all  who  passed  by  to  do  him  honor. 
Then  came  men  bearing  on  a  bier  a  boy  who  had  been 
bitten  by  a  serpent  in  the  woods.  They  were  com- 
pelled to  come  up  and  do  homage  to  the  little  king. 
Jesus  commanded  them  to  take  the  wounded  boy  back 
to  the  place  where  he  had  received  the  bite,  to  force 
the  snake  from  his  hole  and  compel  him  to  suck  out 
.the  poison,  which  was  promptly  done,  and  immediately 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  227 

the  snake  burst  asunder.     This  boy  was  the  Simon 
Zelotes  afterwards  mentioned  in  the  Gospels. 

Once  as  the  boys  were  playing,  one  fell  from  a  roof 
and  was  killed.  The  others  fled,  but  Jesus  stood  by. 
The  relatives  coming  up  accused  Jesus  of  throwing 
the  child  down,  but  he  ordered  the  boy  to  arise  and 
give  testimony,  which  he  did,  and  affirmed  that  it  was 
another  who  threw  him  down.  Another  time  Mary 
sent  him  for  water,  but  the  pitcher,  after  he  had  filled 
it,  broke  in  his  hands ;  so  he  caught  the  water  in  his 
apron  and  brought  it  to  his  mother.  One  sabbath  day 
he  was  playing  with  other  boys  by  a  brook,  and  he 
made  sparrows  which  he  placed  around  a  little  artifi- 
cial pool ;  but  a  son  of  the  Jew  Hannas,  enraged  at 
this  profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  ran  and  destroyed  the 
pool.  Jesus  let  the  sparrows  fly,  and  then  said  to  the 
boy,  "As  the  water  has  disappeared  from  this  pool,  so 
will  thy  life  disappear ;  "  and  from  that  moment  the 
child  sickened,  and  soon  after  died.  One  evening  as 
Jesus  was  going  home  with  Joseph,  a  rough,  careless 
boy  ran  against  him,  and  he  said :  "  As  thou  hast  over- 
thrown me,  so  shalt  thou  be  overthrown  and  not  rise 
again,"  and  immediately  the  boy  fell  down  and  died. 
Other  revengeful  acts  of  the  boy  Jesus  may  be  found 
in  the  Gospel  of  Tliomas  (No.  2).  Joseph  at  length 
gives  Jesus  to  understand  that  they  could  no  longer 
be  tolerated  among  parents  whose  children  had  been 
slain  by  his  mischievous  power,  and  Jesus  answered : 
"  I  know  those  are  not  my  words,  but  thine  ;  never- 
theless for  thy  sake  I  will  be  silent,  but  those  who 
have  complained  of  me  shall  receive  their  punishment ;" 
and  the  complainers  were  soon  struck  blind.     Jesus 


228  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

subsequently  restored  tliem  to  sight,  but  no  one  after 
that  dared  provoke  him  to  anger. 

The  Gospel  of  the  Childhood  and  of  Thomas  have 
many  anecdotes  of  the  school-days  of  Jesus  and  of  his 
being  taught  to  read.  A  school-master  in  Jerusalem 
by  the  name  of  Zacheus,  offered  to  teach  the  child, 
and  when  his  parents  brought  him,  the  teacher  wrote 
the  alphabet,  and  told  the  new  scholar  to  pronounce 
first  Aleph  and  then  Beth.  Jesus  said,  "  Tell  me  the 
meaning  of  Aleph.^  and  then  I  will  pronounce  Beth^ 
The  master  threatened  to  punish  him  for  his  impu- 
dence ;  but  Jesus  unfolded  the  meaning  of  the  letters 
Aleph  and  Beth^  and  described  their  different  forms 
and  positions  in  a  way  the  master  had  never  heard  of 
nor  read  in  books ;  and  then  he  pronounced  the  whole 
alphabet.  The  master  then  said,  "  I  believe  this  boy 
was  born  before  Noah ;  "  and  sent  him  back  to  his 
parents  because  he  was  more  learned  than  all  teachers, 
and  had  no  need  of  instruction.  It  fared  worse  with 
another  more  able  teacher,  who  on  a  like  occasion 
struck  the  boy  Jesus,  and  at  once  his  hand  was  with- 
ered and  he  died,  so  that  Mary  said,  "  We  will  not  any 
more  let  him  go  out  of  the  house,  for  all  who  resist 
him  are  punished  with  death."  A  third  teacher,  who 
hoped  to  gain  the  boy's  affections,  was  so  astonished 
at  his  learning  and  the  knowledge  of  the  law  which  he 
manifested  to  all  the  by-standers,  that  he  entreated 
Joseph  to  take  him  away.  Jesus  smiled  and  praised 
the  teacher,  and  said  he  had  spoken  well ;  and  on  his 
account  he  healed  the  others.  When  at  the  age  of 
twelve  he  was  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  he  asked 
questions  on  the  different  sciences ;  he  explained  the 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  229 

law  and  the  mysteries  in  the  prophetical  books,  the 
depth  of  which  no  created  mind  can  sound;  he  ex- 
plained to  an  astronomer  all  the  relations  and  move- 
ments of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  rules  of  astrol- 
ogy which  are  thence  derived ;  he  showed  knowledge 
of  all  parts  of  the  human  body,  the  fluids  and  solids, 
the  bones,  nerves  and  veins — all  the  faculties  of  the 
soul  and  their  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  body ; 
in  short,  all  kinds  of  knowledge  were  entirely  familiar 
to  him ;  as  the  narrative  expresses  it,  the  plujsical  and 
the  metapliysical^  the  liyperpliysical  and  liyjyo'pliysical^ 
so  that  a  learned  philosopher  present  arose  and  said, 
"  0  Lord,  from  this  time  onward,  I  am  thy  scholar  and 
thy  servant." 

From  this  time  Jesus  began  to  withhold  the  manifes- 
tations of  his  knowledge  and  his  power  till  his  thirtieth 
year. 

The  Death  of  Christ  and  his  Descent  to  Hades.  The 
account  of  these  we  find  in  the  Greek  Gospel  of  Nico- 
demus  (No.  3).  Pilate  commands  an  officer  to  bring 
Jesus  before  him,  but  with  gentleness.  The  officer 
spreads  a  cloth  before  Jesus  for  him  to  walk  on.  The 
Jews  complain  of  this ;  and  Pilate,  asking  him  why  he 
had  done  it,  he  replied,  that  he  had  witnessed  the  en- 
trance of  Jesus  into  Jerusalem,  and  noticed  how  he 
was  honored.  Jesus  was  made  to  advance  without  the 
cloth,  but  as  he  stepped  between  the  soldiers  who  held 
the  standards,  these  eagles  themselves  bowed  down  to 
do  him  honor.  The  Jews,  observing  this,  raised  their 
voices  in  anger  against  the  standard-bearers.  Pilate 
called  them  before  him,  and  inquired  why  they  had 
done  this ;  and  they  assured  him  that  they,  as  pagans, 


230  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

knew  no  reason  for  honoring  Jesus,  but  the  standards 
had  done  it  of  themselves.  Then  Pilate  leaves  it  to 
the  chief  of  the  Jews  to  make  trial  for  their  own  satis- 
faction, and  they  select  twelve  of  their  strongest  and 
bravest  men,  and  commit  the  two  standards,  each  to  a 
company  of  six,  to  hold  them  before  Pilate.  They 
are  threatened  with  death  if  they  allow  the  standards 
to  bow.  But  when  the  officers  bring  in  Jesus,  again 
the  standards  bow  and  worship  him.  Now  the  Jews 
complain  of  Jesus  that  he  is  a  magician  ;  that  his  birth 
was  attended  with  infamy ;  that  he  was  born  in  Beth- 
lehem, and  was  the  cause  of  the  massacre  there ;  that  his 
parents  fled  to  Egypt  because  they  dared  not  confide  in 
the  people ;  that  he  had  profaned  the  Sabbath,  etc.  Dur- 
ing this  strife  Pilate  asked  Jesus,  "What  is  truth  ?"  Jesus 
answered,  "Truth  is  from  heaven."  Pilate  again;  "Is 
there  not  truth  on  earth  also  ?  "  And  Jesus  answered, 
"  Mark  how  those  Avho  have  the  truth  on  earth,  are 
judged  by  those  who  have  the  power  on  earth." 

Then  follows  the  narrative  of  the  crucifixion  and 
resurrection.  After  this,  Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  a 
vision  of  Jesus,  who  appeared  to  him  in  a  splendid 
light.  Joseph  sank  down  and  knew  not  Jesus,  but 
Jesus  raised  him  up  and  said,  "  Fear  not,  Joseph,  see 
me,  who  I  am."  Joseph  cried  out,  "Rabboni,  Elias." 
He  replied,  "  I  am  not  Elias,  but  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
buried  by  you."  For  proof  Jesus  led  Joseph  to  the 
tomb  in  which  his  body  had  lain,  and  showed  him  the 
clothes  in  which  the  corpse  had  been  wrapped,  and 
then  led  him  back  to  his  house,  and  blessing  him  sepa- 
rated from  him.  Joseph  of  Arimathea  afterwards 
related  to  Annas  and  Caiaphas,  that  Jesus  had  not  risen 
from  the  dead  alone,  but  had  called  several  others  to 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  231 

life,  who  had  appeared  in  Jerusalem,  among  them  two 
sons  of  the  high  priest  Simeon,  who  had  taken  Jesus 
in  his  arms  when  he  was  a  child.  They  were  then 
living  in  Arimathea,  but  were  silent  as  the  dead,  and 
engaged  wholly  in  prayer.  Joseph,  Nicodemus,  An- 
nas and  Caiaphas  went  immediately  to  Arimathea,  and 
found  them  praying,  and  brought  them  reverently  into 
the  synagogue  at  Jerusalem,  where,  with  closed  doors, 
they  adjured  them  to  disclose  the  particulars  of  their 
resurrection.  Charinus  and  Lenthius  (these  were  their 
names),  when  they  heard  this,  trembled  and  groaned, 
and  they  looked  towards  heaven  and  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  on  their  tongues.  They  then  demanded 
writing  materials,  and  when  these  were  brought,  they 
wrote  in  substance  the  following  narrative : 

They  were  with  the  fathers  in  the  dark  abyss,  when 
suddenly  a  golden  sunlight  entered  and  shone  around 
them.  Father  Adam,  the  patriarchs  and  prophets, 
arose  and  announced  the  arrival  of  the  Deliverer ;  and 
their  father  Simeon,  who  had  taken  the  infant  Jesus 
in  his  arms,  joined  in  the  announcement.  The  whole 
multitude  of  the  saints  rejoiced ;  John  the  Baptist  also 
stepped  up  and  declared  what  had  happened  at  the 
baptism,  and  that  he  had  come  there  before  Jesus  to 
announce  his  arrival.  Then  Adam  through  Seth  in- 
formed the  patriarchs  and  prophets  what  he  had  heard 
from  the  archangel  Michael,  when  in  his  weakness  he 
had  sent  him  to  the  gates  of  paradise  to  get  for  him 
some  oil  from  the  tree  of  mercy.  Seth  related  that 
he  was  then  referred  to  the  coming  of  Christ  on  earth  ; 
he  should  bring  to  believers  the  oil  of  mercy,  and 
should  also  lead  father  Adam  into  paradise  to  the  tree 


232  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  mercy.  Satan  now  commanded  hell  to  arm  against 
Jesiis,  who  had  boasted  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God, 
though  still  a  man  who  was  afraid  of  death ;  he  had 
himself  tempted  him  while  on  earth,  and  excited 
against  him  his  ancient  people  the  Jews.  Yet  hell 
was  afraid,  for  she  had  felt  the  power  of  Jesus,  and 
could  not  retain  Lazarus  against  his  will.  Finally  the 
Lord  of  glory  arrived  in  the  shape  of  a  man,  enlight- 
ened the  eternal  darkness  and  loosed  the  perpetual 
bonds.  Death  and  hell  acknowledged  themselves  con- 
quered, and  against  their  will  celebrated  the  glory  of 
Jesus.  Jesus  smote  death  by  his  majesty,  gave  over 
Satan  to  the  power  of  hell,  and  took  Adam  with  him 
into  his  glory.  He  called  to  him  all  the  saints  who 
bore  his  image  and  likeness,  he  took  Adam  by  the 
right  hand  and  blessed  him  with  his  righteous  descend- 
ants. Adam  returned  thanks,  and  all  with  him  bowed 
the  knee  to  Jesus.  Then  he  marked  them  with  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  and  led  them  out  of  hell  with  Adam 
at  their  head.  David  uttered  a  song  of  praise,  so  did 
Habakkuk,  Micah,  and  the  other  prophets,  all  the  saints 
joining  in.  The  Lord  then  delivered  Adam  and  the 
saints  to  the  archangel  Michael,  who  led  them  into 
paradise.  Here  they  were  met  by  two  very  old  men, 
who,  on  being  asked  who  they  were,  replied  that  they 
were  Enoch  and  Elijah ;  they  had  not  yet  tasted  death, 
and  were  to  be  kept  alive  till  the  coming  of  Anti- 
Christ,  with  whom  they  were  to  fight,  and  to  be  slain 
by  him,  and  then,  after  three  days  and  a  half,  they 
would  l)e  taken  up  into  the  clouds  alive.  During  this 
conversation  there  came  along  a  poor,  Avretched  look- 
ing man,  bearing  on  his  shoulder  the  sign  of  the  cross, 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  233 

and  resembling  in  appearance  a  robber.  On  being 
questioned  he  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  thief 
whom  the  Jews  had  crucified  with  Christ,  that  Jesus 
had  sent  him  into  paradise,  that  the  angel  of  paradise 
had  admitted  him  on  account  of  the  sign  of  the  cross ; 
and  had  informed  him  that  Adam  with  his  righteous 
and  holy  sons  would  soon  arrive. 

"  These  are  the  divine  mysteries  which  we,  even  I, 
Charinus  and  Lenthius,  saw  and  heard  ;  more  we  dare 
not  tell,  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  arch- 
angel Michael.  But  repent,  and  make  acknowledg- 
ment and  give  honor  to  God,  that  he  may  have  mercy 
upon  you." 

Charinus  gave  what  he  had  written  to  Annas,  Caia- 
phus  and  Gamaliel,  and  Lenthius  gave  his  manuscript 
to  Nicodemus  and  Joseph,  when  suddenly  they  were 
transfigured  in  glory  and  were  no  more  seen.  The 
two  writings,  on  being  compared,  were  found  to  cor- 
respond exactly,  without  the  difference  of  a  single 
letter. 

REMARKS    ON    THE    APOCRYPHAL    GOSPELS,    AS    COMPARED 
WITH  THE  CANONICAL. 

The  above  is  a  full  and  faithful  narrative  of  all  that 
these  apocryphal  gospels  contain ;  more  full  perhaps 
than  some  may  think  necessary  or  will  have  patience 
to  read.  But  as  the  idea  has  been  seriously  advanced 
by  Strauss  and  enlarged  upon  by  others,  that  these 
apocryphal  books  are  of  very  much  the  same  kind, 
and  got  up  in  very  much  the  same  way  as  the  canoni- 
cal, it  is  time  that  the  friends  of  evangelical  truth  fully 
understood  the  matter ;  and  it  can  be  understood  only 


234  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

by  examination.  The  books  are  as  yet  in  Lut  few 
hands ;  some  of  them  are  published  only  in  foreign 
and  difficult  languages,  and  it  is  desirable  that  the  ab- 
stract, which  we  give,  should  be  sufficiently  full  to 
make  a  fair  and  complete  representation  of  what  they 
actually  contain.  Such  a  representation  we  claim  to 
have  made,  in  the  preceding  pages. 

Now  let  any  candid  man,  with  a  reasonable  share 
of  common  sense,  carefully  read  the  narratives  above 
given,  and  compare  them  with  our  four  Gospels,  con- 
tainecT  in  the  New  Testament,  and  what  will  he  say  to 
the  allegation  of  Strauss,  and  those  like  him  ?  Is  there 
anything  to  be  said,  except  this,  that  the  clumsiest 
counterfeit  of  a  bank  note  which  was  ever  issued,  a 
counterfeit  so  gross  that  the  most  juvenile  clerk  of  a 
country  store  can  detect  it  as  well  as  the  most  expe- 
rienced banker,  can  not  be  more  unlike  the  genuine 
note  than  these  apocryphal  gospels  are  unlike  the 
canonical?  In  the  great  mass,  there  are  some  very 
few  touches  which  seem  to  indicate  a  tradition  above 
the  ordinary  level ;  but  as  a  whole,  in  every  aspect  of 
the  case,  they  present  a  perfect  contrast.  So  for  from 
possessing  any  of  the  excellencies  of  the  canonical 
Gospels,  there  is  not  resemblance  sufficient  to  make 
them  even  caricatures.  Instead  of  simplicity,  we  have 
bombast ;  instead  of  strong,  good  sense,  silliness ;  in- 
stead of  purity,  filthiness ;  instead  of  manliness,  puer- 
ility; instead  of  dignity,  meanness;  instead  of  self- 
forgetfulness,  self-exaltation;  instead  of  generosity, 
spitefulness ;  instead  of  elevated,  sublime  sentiment, 
poor,  degrading  nonsense.  Indeed,  while  the  genuine 
Gospels  are  fully  equal  to  and  even  above  the  delicacy 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  235 

and  true  refinement  and  intellectual  and  moral  eleva- 
tion of  the  most  cultivated  nations  and  ages,  the  apoc- 
ryphal generally  fall  below  almost  the  lowest,  and 
could  scarcely  find  anywhere  a  public,  mean  enough 
to  receive  and  relish  them,  except  in  the  dark  corners 
of  the  declining  Iloman  empire,  where  they  first  orig- 
inated, or  the  equally  dark  corners  of  the  modern  pa- 
pacy and  Mormonism. 

Moreover,  if  the  genuine  Gospels  were  of  the  same 
character  as  the  aprocryphal,  how  could  the  philo- 
sophic historian,  from  such  a  beginning,  account  for  the 
development  of  such  an  institution  as  the  Christian 
church  ? 

The  Christian  church  exists ;  Hegel  himself  could 
not  deny  that,  nor  reason  the  fact  into  non-existence. 
The  Christian  church  has  existed  for  a  long  time ;  it 
has  had  a  history,  it  has  exerted  influence,  it  has  had 
a  character ;  and  here  are  results  to  be  accounted  for, 
events  which  have  had  a  cause ;  and  is  the  cause  to 
be  sought  in  such  stuff"  as  these  apocryphal  gospels  are 
made  of?  Are  these  results  to  be  accounted  for  by 
ascribing  them  to  such  persons  as  are  described  in 
these  books,  or  such  minds  as  produced  these  writings  ? 
With  even  more  reason  might  you  attribute  the  plan- 
ning and  rearing  of  such  edifices  as  Westminster  abbey 
and  St.  Paul's  church,  and  the  new  parliament  house, 
to  such  characters  as  Mr.  Pickwick  and  Mr.  Jingle,  the 
Artful  Dodger  and  Fagin  the  Jew.  There  is  reason 
in  all  things  that  are  really  things ;  and  that  which 
has  no  reason  in  it,  is  nothing  (an  Unding)^  and  neither 
deserves  nor  needs  an  answer. 


236  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 


COMPARISON  OF  THE  CANONICAL  GOSPELS  WITH    THE  FRAG- 
MENTS OF  GOSPELS  SUPPOSED  TO  BE  LOST. 

Besides  these  apocryphal  gospels,  which  a  mere  in- 
spection and  comparison  with  the  genuine  show  to  be 
worthless  and  of  comparatively  late  origin,  there  are 
preserved  in  ancient  writers  the  names  and  certain  pas- 
sages of  others,  which  seem  nearer  the  apostolic  period 
and  more  worthy  of  notice.  That  there  were  written 
memorials  of  our  Saviour's  ministry  anterior  to  some  of 
our  canonical  Gospels,  is  plain  from  the  declaration  of 
Luke  in  the  prologue  to  his  Gospel ;  and  that  these 
memorials  were  imperfect  and  unsatisfactory  is  equally 
evident  from  the  same  authority.  To  be  fully  satisfied 
on  this  head  one  need  only  carefully  read  the  verses 
referred  to,  Luke  i.  1-4. 

It  is  not  probable  that  Luke  had  here  in  mind  Mat- 
thew and  Mark,  for  two  could  not  with  propriety  be 
called  many  (jioliox^ ;  and  had  he  referred  to  these 
divinely  authorized  historians,  he  could  hardly  have 
assigned  it  as  his  reason  for  writing,  that  Theophilus 
might  know  the  certainty  (Ctacp<!ilBiai'~J  of  the  things 
wherein  he  had  been  instructed ;  for  as  far  as  the  cer- 
tainty is  concerned,  it  could  be  as  w^ell  ascertained 
from  Matthew  or  Mark  as  from  Luke.  Luke,  when  he 
wrote,  might  not  have  known  that  Matthew  and  Mark 
had  written  before  him ;  and  it  would  seem  from  his 
introductory  remarks,  that  Theophilus,  his  friend,  had 
not  yet  found  access  to  any  written  account  of  Christ, 
except  such  imperfect  and  fragmentary  notices  as  had 
been  penned  by  different  men  without  divine  authority. 
That  such  notices  should  have  been  written  is  in  itself 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  237 

in  the  highest  degree  probable ;  and  existing  as  they 
must  only  in  manuscript  and  in  private  hands,  it  is 
also  certain  that  after  the  authentic  Gospels  were  pub- 
lished, they  would  generally  cease  to  be  transcribed 
and  would  finally  jDcrish.  Yet  portions  of  them  would 
probably  remain  extant  for  a  considerable  period ;  in 
certain  places  and  by  some  persons,  they  would  most 
likely  be  preferred  to  the  true  Gospels ;  and  combined, 
augmented,  and  variously  fashioned,  they  might  hold 
their  position  several  generations,  before  they  would 
finally  perish. 

The  earlier  Christian  writers,  as  Justin  Martyr,  Ire- 
naeus,  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Tertullian,  make 
allusions  and  even  quotations,  which  seem  to  establish 
the  fact  of  the  existence  of  such  narratives  in  their 
time ;  and  when  we  come  down  to  the  time  of 
Origen  and  Jerome,  we  find  gospels  mentioned  by 
name  which  differ  both  from  the  canonical  and  the 
apocryphal  as  we  now  have  them.  In  the  first  homily 
on  Luke,  published  with  the  works  of  Origen  and 
ascribed  to  that  author,  there  is  the  following  state- 
ment;  ""Many    undertook   to  write   gospels,   but    all 

were  not  received so  that  you  may  know 

that  not  four  gospels  only  but  maiiy  were  written, 
The  church  has  four  gos- 
pels, the  heretics  many ;  one  of  which  is  inscribed 
according  to  the  Egyptians^  another,  according  to  the 

twelve  apostles I  know  a  certain  gospel  which 

is  called  according  to  Thomas^  and  according  to  Mat- 
thiasy  The  last  two  of  these  may  properly  be  called 
apocryphal,  but  the  first  two  seem  not  with  strict  justice 


238  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

to  come  under  that  designation,  inasmuch  as  it  seems 
probable  that  the  first  was  mainly  an  Egyptian  edition 
of  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  and  the  second  nearly  identical 
with  the  Hebrew  Gospel  of  Matthew.  In  his  preface 
to  Matthew  Jerome  says :  "  There  were  many  who 
wrote  gospels,  ....  which,  being  edited  by  differ- 
ent authors,  became  the  sources  of  diverse  heresies,  as 
that  according  to  the  Egyptians^  and  Thomas^  and  Bar- 
tholomeiu^  and  also  the  twelve  apostles^  In  his  work 
De  Vtr.  lllust.  (c.  2),  he  makes  mention  of  a  "gospel 
which  is  called  according  to  the  Hebrews^  which  was 
lately  translated  by  me  into  both  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages."  Eusebius,  speaking  of  the  Ebionites  (Hist. 
Ecc.  iii.  29),  says :  "  They  use  only  the  gospel  which  is 
according  to  the  Hebrews ^ 

Of  those  writings,  which  may  be  supposed  to  have 
some  connection  with  the  "  many  "  alluded  to  by  Luke, 
we  will  present  a  translation  of  some  fragments  still 
preserved  from  that  according  to  the  Hehreivs^  from  the 
one  according  to  the  Egyptians^  and  the  memorabilia 
(iinofiviiuofeufiaTu)  quoted  by  Justin  Martyr.  We  shall 
add  a  brief  notice  of  the  Diatessaron  of  Tatian  and  of 
the  gospel  of  Marcion,  which  last,  being  for  substance 
an  abridged  edition  of  Luke,  has  been  learnedly  and 
laboriously  restored  and  edited  by  Aug.  Hahn,  and 
published  entire  by  Thilo  in  his  Codex  Apoc.  Nov.  Test. 
i.  401-486. 

GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  THE    HEBREWS. 

Neither  this  gospel  itself,  nor  Jerome's  translation 
of  it,  have  for  many  centuries  been  seen ;  and  all  tlie 
knowledge  which  we  can  now  obtain  of  its  contents, 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  239 

must  be  derived  from  incidental  quotations,  like  those 
which  we  herewith  translate. 

Clemens  Alex.  (L.  ii.  Strom,  p.  380) :  "In  the  gos- 
pel according  to  the  Hebrews,  it  is  written.  He  that 
hath  admired  shall  reign  ;  and  he  that  hath  reigned  shall 
have  resty 

Origen  (in  Johan.  vol.  iv.  p.  63) :  "But  if  any  one 
will  go  to  the  gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  where 
the  Saviour  himself  saith :  Noio  my  mother.^  the  Holy 
Qhost.,  took  me  by  one  of  my  hairs.,  and  brought  me  to 
the  great  mountain  even  Tabor. ^"^ 

In  Matth.  xix.  19  (vol.  iii.  p.  691):  "It  is  written 
in  a  certain  gospel,  which  is  called  according  to  the 
Hebrews  (if  yet  it  may  please  any  one  to  take  it,  not 
as  authority,  but  as  an  illustration  of  the  question  pro- 
posed), and  it  says :  One  of  the  rich  men  said  to  him. 
Master,  doing  what  good  thing  shall  I  live  ?  He  said 
to  him,  Man,  fulfill  the  law  and  the  prophets.  He 
replied  to  him,  I  have  done  it.  He  said  to  him.  Go, 
sell  all  which  thou  possessest,  and  divide  among  the 
poor,  and  come,  follow  me.  But  the  rich  man  began 
to  scratch  his  head,  and  it  did  not  please  him.  And 
the  Lord  said  to  him,  How  canst  thou  say  I  have  ful- 
filled the  law  and  the  prophets,  when  it  is  written  in  the 
law,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself;  and  be- 
hold many  of  thy  brethren,  the  sons  of  Abraham,  are 
covered  with  filth,  dying  with  famine,  and  thy  house 
is  filled  with  many  good  things,  and  nothing  almost 
goes  out  of  it  to  them  ?  And  turning  to  Simon  his 
disciple,  who  sat  by  him,  he  said,  Simon,  son  of  John, 
it  is  easier  that  a  camel  go  through  the  Qje  of  a  needle, 
than  a  rich  man  go  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 


240  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Epiphanius  (Haeres.  xxx.  13)  :  "  In  the  gospel  with 
them  (the  Ebionites)  called  according  to  Matthew,  yet 

not  entire  and  pure,  but  adulterated they 

call  it  the  Hebrew  (gospel)  .  .  .  it  is  contained  thus : 
There  was  a  certain  man,  Jesus  by  name,  and  he  was 
about  thirty  years  old,  who  chose  us.  And  going  into 
Capernaum  he  went  into  the  house  of  Simon,  who  is 
called  Peter,  and  opening  his  mouth  he  said :  Passing 
along  by  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  I  chose  John  and  James, 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  Simon  and  Andrew  and  Simon 
Zelotes,  and  Judas  Iscariot ;  and  thee,  0  Matthew,  sit- 
ting at  the  receipt  of  custom,  I  called  and  thou  didst 
follow  me.  Wherefore  I  will  that  ye  be  twelve  apos- 
tles for  a  testimony  unto  Israel.  And  John  was  bap- 
tizing, and  the  Pharisees  went  out  to  him  and  were 
baptized,  and  all  Jerusalem.  And  John  had  raiment 
of  camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins. 
And  his  food,  it  says,  was  wild  honey,  whose  taste  was 
that  of  manna,  as  honey-cakes  with  oil ;  and  thence 
they  may  change  the  word  of  truth  to  a  lie,  and  in- 
stead of  locusts  ((xxo/(5d»»')  they  may  make  it  cahes  QyxQiSag'^ 
with  honey.  But  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  with 
them  is  this :  It  came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Herod,  the 
king  of  Judea,  John  came  baptizing  the  baptism  of 
repentance  in  the  river  Jordan,  who  was  said  to  be  of 
the  race  of  Aaron  the  priest,  the  son  of  Zachariah  and 
Elizabeth  ;  and  all  came  to  him.  And  after  saying 
many  things,  it  goes  on.  The  people  being  baptized, 
Jesus  also  came  and  was  baptized.  And  when  he  went 
up  from  the  water,  the  heavens  were  opened,  and  he 
saw  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  in  the  form  of  a  dove  de- 
scending and  coming  to  him.     And  there  was  a  voice 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  241 

from  heaven  saying,  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in  thee 
I  am  well  pleased.  And  again,  I  this  day  have  begot- 
ten thee.  And  immediately  a  great  light  illumined 
the  place.  Which  seeing,  it  says,  John  said  unto  him, 
Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?  And  again  there  was  a  voice 
from  heaven  to  him,  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased.  And  then  it  says,  John  falling 
down  before  him,  says,  I  pray  thee,  0  Lord,  baptize 
thou  me.  But  he  forbade  him,  saying.  Suffer  it,  for 
thus  it  is  becoming  that  all  things  be  fulhlled." 

XXX.  14 :  "  Cutting  off  the  genealogies  in  Matthew, 
they  begin :  To  make  the  beginning,  as  I  said  before, 
saying,  It  came  to  pass,  it  says,  in  the  days  of  Herod, 
king  of  Judea,  in  the  high  priesthood  of  Caiaphas,  a 
certain  man,  John  by  name,  came  baptizing  the  bap- 
tism of  repentance  in  the  river  Jordan,  ^nd  so  on." 

XXX.  16:  "That  which  is  called  the  gospel  with 
them,  contains  this :  I  have  come  to  destroy  the  sacri- 
fices, and  if  ye  will  not  cease  to  sacrifice,  wrath  will 
not  cease  from  you." 

Jerome  (Contra  Pel.  iii.  2)  :  "In  the  gospel  accord- 
ing to  the  Hebrews  the  history  narrates.  Behold  the 
mother  of  the  Lord  and  his  brethren  said  to  him,  John 
Baptist  is  baptizing  for  the  remission  of  sins ;  let  us  go 
and  be  baptized  by  him.  But  he  said  to  them.  What 
have  I  sinned  that  I  should  go  and  be  baptized  by 
him?" 

Comm.  in  Isa.  xL  1 :  "According  to  the  gospel  which 
the  Nazaraeans  read,  the  fount  of  every  Holy  Spirit 
shall  be  upon  him.  Moreover  we  find  these  things 
written :  And  it  came  to  pass  when  the  Lord  ascended 
from  the  water,  the  fount  of  every  Holy  Spirit  de- 
16 


242  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

scended  and  rested  upon  him  and  said  to  him,  My  Son 
in  all  the  prophets  I  was  expecting  thee,  that  thou 
shouldst  come,  and  I  should  rest  upon  thee.  For  thou 
art  my  rest,  thou  art  my  first  born  Son,  who  shalt  reign 
forever." 

Comm.  in  Mich.  vii.  6 :  "In  which  (gospel  accord- 
ing to  the  Hebrews)  it  is  said  in  the  person  of  the 
Saviour,  My  Mother,  the  Holy  Spirit,  took  me  lately 
by  one  of  my  hairs." 

Comm.  in  Ephes.  v.  3  :  "Also  in  the  Hebrew  gospel 
we  read,  that  the  Lord,  speaking  to  the  disciples,  said, 
You  may  never  rejoice  except  when  you  see  your 
brother  in  charity." 

De  Yir.  111.  c.  2  :  "The  gospel  according  to  the  He- 
brews, after  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  reports : 
But  the  Lord  when  he  had  given  the  linen  cloth  to  a 
servant  of  the  priest,  went  to  James  and  appeared  to  him. 
For  James  had  sworn  that  he  would  not  eat  bread  from 
that  hour  in  which  he  had  drank  the  cup  of  the  Lord, 
until  he  had  seen  him  arise  from  them  that  sleep.  .  And 
again,  a  little  after,  the  Lord  said.  Bring  a  table  and 
bread.  And  immediately  it  adds.  He  took  the  bread 
and  blessed  and  break  and  gave  to  James  the  just, 
and  said  to  him.  My  brother,  eat  thy  bread,  for  the  Son 
of  Man  has  risen  from  them  that  sleep." 

Con.  Pel.  iii.  2 :  "And  in  the  same  volume  (Gros> 
pel  of  the  Hebrews),  he  says,  If  thy  brother  sin  against 
thee  in  word,  and  make  satisfaction  to  thee  seven  times 
in  a  day,  receive  him.  Simon,  his  disciple,  said  to 
him.  Seven  times  in  a  day  ?  The  Lord  answered  and 
said  unto  him,  Yes,  I  say  unto  thee,  until  seventy  times 
seven!     For   even   in  the  prophets,   after  they    are 


APOCEYPHAL     GOSPELS.  243 

anointed  with  tlie  Holy  Ghost,  is  found  matter  of 
sin." 

Comm.  in  Matt.  vi.  11 :  "  In  the  (Hebrew)  gospel,  the 
man  who  had  the  withered  hand,  is  said  to  be  a  brick- 
layer (caementarius)^  and  he  prayed  for  help  in  this 
manner :  I  was  a  brick-layer,  earning  my  living  by  my 
hands ;  I  pray  thee,  0  Jesus,  that  thou  wouldst  restore 
health  to  me,  that  I  may  not  basely  beg  my  bread." 

Ep.  120,  ad  Hedib. :  "In  the  (Hebrew)  gospel  we 
read,  not  that  the  veil  of  the  temple  wast  rent,  but  that 
the  lintel  of  the  temple,  of  wonderful  magnitude,  was 
broken  down." 

From  the  above  extracts,  it  is  manifest  that  the  Gos- 
pel according  to  the  Hebrews  was  vastly  superior  to  the 
latter  apocryphal  gospels,  of  which  an  abstract  has 
already  been  given ;  and  greatly  inferior  to  the  canoni- 
cal Gospels  of  our  New  Testament.  The  ground- work 
of  it  would  seem  to  have  been  the  Hebrew  Gospel  of 
Matthew,  in  some  places  mutilated,  and  in  others  en- 
larged by  augmentations  from  a  tradition  not  then 
remote.  There  were  probably  several  different  recen- 
sions of  it ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  substantially  the 
same  with  that  which  was  sometimes  called  the  gospel 
acGcording  to  the  twelve  apostles. 

THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  THE  EGYPTIANS. 

Epiphanius,  in  Speaking  of  the  Sabellians,  has  the 
following  passage  (Haer.  L.  xxii.  2):  "Their  whole 
error,  and  the  power  of  their  error,  they  derive  from 
certain  apocryphal  books,  especially  from  one  called 
the  Egyptian  Gospel.,  to  which  some  give  this  name. 
For  in  it  are  contained  many  such  things,  as  it  were 


244  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

mysteriously  in  a  jumble,  from  the  person  of  the 
Saviour,  as  that  he  declared  to  his  disciples  that  he 
was  the  Father,  and  he  the  Son,  and  he  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

Clemens  Alex.  (Strom,  iii.  6,  etc.,  p.  445,  52,  53) : 
"  To  Salome,  inquiring  how  long  death  should  have 
power,  the  Lord  said.  As  long  as  you  women  bear  chil- 
dren  Moreover,   she  saying,   I  have   done 

well  in  not  bearing  children,  the  Lord  answered,  say- 
ing. Eat  every  herb,  but  that  which  is  bitter  thou 
mayest  not  eat ;  by  which  words  he  signifies,  that  celib- 
acy or  marriage  is  a  matter  within  our  own  choice, 
neither  being  enforced  by  any  prohibition  of  the  other. 
This,  I  suppose,  is  contained  in  the  gosjyel  according  to 
the  Egyptiansy 

Clemens  Romanus.  In  the  second  epistle,  ascribed 
to  this  author  (vi.  12),  there  are  two  quotations  from 
a  certain  gospel,  which,  when  compared  with  what  is 
said  of  the  EgTjptian  gosjjel  by  Clemens  Alexandrinus, 
learned  men  have  inferred  to  be  from  that  work.  The 
first  is  as  follows:  "  For  the  Lord  saith,  ye  shall  be  as 
lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  Peter  answered  and  said, 
What  if  the  wolves  shall  tear  the  lambs  in  pieces? 
Jesus  said  unto  Peter,  Let  not  the  lambs,  after  they 
are  dead,  be  afraid  of  the  wolves.  And  ye  also,  fear 
not  them  that  kill  you,  and  are  then  able  to  do  noth- 
ing to  you ;  but  fear  him  who  hath  power,  after  that 
ye  are  dead,  to  cast  both  soul  and  body  into  hell-fire." 
The  second  passage  is  this:  "Wherefore  also  he  saith 
thus :  Keep  the  flesh  pure  and  the  soul  unspotted,  that 
ye  may  receive  eternal  life." 

The  above  is  nearly  all  that  remains  of  the  gospel 


APOCKYPHAL     GOSPELS.  245 

according  to  tJie  Egyptians  ^  and  it  is  not  absolutely 
certain  that  all  even  of  these  passages  are  from  that 
work,  for  Clemens  Alexandrinus  only  supposes^  and 
the  source  of  the  quotations  of  Romanus  is  wholly 
conjectural.  So  far  as  we  are  able  to  judge,  this  Egyp- 
tian gospel  was  still  more  faulty  than  that  of  the  He- 
brews. 

Besides  these,  there  are  mentioned  by  ancient  writers 
a  gospel  of  Pete?-  (Theodoret.  Haeret.  Fab.  ii.  2),  and  a 
gospel  of  Cerinthus  (Epiphan.  xxvii.  5  ;  xxx.  14)  ;  but 
no  extracts  are  given  from  them,  and  from  what  is 
said  about  them,  it  would  seem  that  the  latter  was 
closely  connected  with  the  gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
the  former  with  that  of  the  Egyptians.  According  to 
this,  the  gospel  of  Oerintlms  would  have  some  connec- 
tion with  our  canonical  Matthew,  and  the  gospel  of 
Peter  with  our  canonical  Mark.  (Guericke,  Einleit.  N.  T. 
198,  199.) 

MEMORABILIA  OF  JUSTIN  MARTYR. 

This  father  in  his  writings  frequently  refers  to  the 
deeds  and  words  of  Christ,  and  cites  passages  from 
certain  apostolic  writings,  which  he  calls  memorahilia 
or  memoirs  and  also  gospels.  These  writings  he  affirms 
were  the  work  of  apostles  and  of  companions  of  apos- 
tles. Two  passages  from  his  second  Apology  may  be 
sufficient  to  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  he  refers  to 
these  authorities.  For  the  apostles.^  in  the  memoirs  com- 
posed hy  tliem.^  ichich  are  called  gospels.,  have  thus  handed 
doiun.,  etc.  For  in  the  memoirs  which  I  say  were  compos- 
ed hy  the  apostles  or  hy  those  who  accompanied  them,  etc. 

Some  of  the  passages  which  Justin  quotes,  are  literal 


246  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

transcripts  from  our  canonical  Matthew ;  many  are 
quotations,  with  sUght  verbal  differences,  from  Mat- 
thew and  Luke  ;  some  combine  the  sense  of  passages 
found  in  two  or  more  of  the  Gospels ;  and  others 
merely  give  the  meaning  of  a  text  without  attempting 
to  give  the  words.  There  are  still  others  which  differ 
very  much  from  our  present  Gospels,  and  some  few, 
of  which  no  trace  can  be  found  in  our  canon.  Of  the 
two  kinds  last  mentioned  we  will  give  a  full  selection, 
and  specimens  of  the  others. 

By  comparing  all  the  quotations,  it  would  seem  that 
Justin  used  mainly  our  Matthew,  and  was  quite  familiar 
with  Luke ;  while  he  makes  very  little  direct  use  of 
Mark,  and  still  less  of  John.  He  seems  also  to  lyive 
had  traditionary  reports  of  some  passages  in  the  life 
of  Christ  not  contained  in  our  Gospels,  and  access  to 
some  writings  not  now  extant,  as  perhaps  the  original 
Hebrew  Gospel  of  Matthew,  and  some  of  the  "many" 
referred  to  by  Luke  in  the  introduction  to  his  Gosj)el. 
All  this  is  very  easily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
Justin  was  a  native  and  resident  of  Palestine,  where 
these  traditions  and  the  writings  from  which  he  draws, 
originated  and  were  longest  preserved ;  while,  of  the 
two  Gospels  which  he  passes  over  almost  without  no- 
tice, the  one  (Mark)  was  written  and  published  for  the 
use  of  the  Latins,  the  other  (John)  was  originally  de- 
signed for  the  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor. 

We  begin  our  extracts  with  the  sentences  which 
differ  most  widely  from  our  canonical  gospels. 

Dial.  c.  Tryph. :  "  And  then  the  child,  having  been 
born  in  Bethlehem,  since  Joseph  had  not  in  that  village 
«,  place  to  lodge,  was  lodged  in  a  certain  cave  near  the 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  247 

village.  They  being  there  Mary  brought  forth  the 
Christ,  and  laid  him  in  a  manger  (qxxTvi/j  where  the 
Magi,  coming  from  Arabia,  found  him." 

"  Then  Jesus  came  to  the  river  Jordan,  where  John 
was  baptizing,  and  when  he  went  down  to  the  water, 
a  fire  was  kindled  in  the  Jordan ;  and  while  he  was 
ascending  from  the  water,  his  apostles  write,  the  Holy 
Ghost  like  a  dove  flew  upon  him  ....  and  at  the 
same  time  a  voice  came  out  of  the  heavens,  Thou  art 
my  Son.,  I  this  day  have  begotten  thee.'''' 

(Jesus)  "  being  among  men,  did  carpenter's  work, 
making  ploughs,  and  yokes,  by  these  things  even 
teaching  the  symbols  of  righteousness  and  an  indus- 
trious life." 

"  And  they,  seeing  these  things  take  place,  said  it 
was  a  magical  fantasy,  for  they  dared  to  call  him  a 
magician  and  a  deceiver  of  tke  people." 

"  Christ  said.  In  what  things  I  apprehend  you,  in 
those  also  I  shall  judge  you." 

The  matters  in  the  above  statements,  to  which  there 
is  nothing  corresponding  in  our  canonical  Gospels,  are 
evidently  traditionary  notices ;  and  some  of  them  very 
closely  resemble  what  the  fathers  quote  from  the  gos- 
pel according  to  the  Hebrews. 

We  proceed  to  give  extracts,  of  which  the  sense  is 
found  in  the  canonical  Gospels,  though  not  always  in 
one  passage  nor  in  the  same  words. 

Apol.  ii. :  "Be  not  anxious  as  to  what  ye  shall  eat, 
or  wherewith  ye  shall  be  clothed.  Are  ye  not  better 
than  birds  and  beasts  ?  yet  God  feedeth  them.  Be 
not  anxious,  then,  as  to  what  ye  shall  eat  or  wherewith 
ye  shall  be  clothed ;  for  your  heavenly  father  knoweth 


248  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

that  ye  have  need  of  these  things ;  but  seek  ye  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you ;  for  where  the  treasure  is,  there  is  also  the 
mind  of  the  man," 

"  Many  will  say  to  me.  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  eaten 
and  drank  in  thy  name,  and  wrought  miracles  ?  and 
then  I  will  say  to  them.  Depart  from  me  ye  workers 
of  iniquity.  There  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth,  when  the  righteous  shall  shine  like  the  sun,  and 
the  wicked  shall  be  sent  into  eternal  fire.  For  many 
shall  come  in  my  name,  being  clothed  outwardly  with 
the  skins  of  sheep,  but  inwardly  are  ravening  wolves. 
By  their  works  ye  shall  know  them.  Every  tree  not 
bearing  good  fruit,  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into  the 
fire." 

"Be  not  afraid  of  those  who  destroy  you,  and  after 
that  are  not  able  to  do  anything ;  but  fear  him  who 
after  death,  is  able  to  cast  both  soul  and  body  into 
hell." 

These  extracts  all  have  the  appearance  of  being 
quoted  from  memory  out  of  different  parts  of  the 
canonical  Matthew  and  Luke,  without  reference  to  the 
particular  place,  or  any  attempt  at  verbal  accuracy. 

Apol.  ii. :  "  Whosoever  is  angry,  shall  be  obnoxious 
to  the  fire." 

"  For  whosoever  heareth  me  and  doeth  what  I  say, 
heareth  him  that  sent  me." 

"  Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  pharisees,  hypocrites ;  for 
ye  tithe  seasoning  and  rue ;  but  consider  not  the  love 
of  God  and  the  judgment." 

"  Many  false  Christs  and  false  apostles  shall  arise, 
and  shall  lead  astray  many  of  the  faithful." 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  249 

"For  Christ  also  said,  Except  ye  be  born  again,  ye 
can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  it  is 
plain  to  all,  that  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  have 
once  been  born,  to  enter  again  into  the  womb  of  those 
that  bear  them." 

Dial.  c.  Tryph. :  "A  certain  one  saying  to  him  Good 
Master,  he  answered.  Why  callest  thou  me  good  ?  there 
is  one  good,  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 

These  are  the  quotations  by  Justin  which  differ  most 
widely  from  the  text  of  our  canon.  He  quotes 
often,  generally  without  any  variation  in  sense, 
and  frequently  with  literal  exactness.  Very  many 
verses  of  the  New  Testament  are  found  complete  in 
his  writings.  It  is  evident,  on  comparison  of  the 
whole,  that  his  memorabilia  or  memoirs  were  the  same 
Gospels  which  we  now  have,  with  perhaps  the  edition 
of  a  Hebrew  Matthew  ;  and  when  he  gives  what  is  not 
in  our  Gospels,  he  copies  from  the  traditions  of  his  own 
times,  either  oral  or  written,  or  both. 

DIATESSARON  OF  TATIAN. 

Tatian  is  described  by  Eusebius  (Hist.  Ecc.  iv.  29) 
a^  once  a  hearer  of  Justin  Martyr,  in  good  repute  among 
Christians;  but  after  the  death  of  Justin,  he  became 
an  ascetic  Encratite,  abstaining  from  flesh  and  wine, 
and  denying  the  lawfulness  of  marriage.  He  wrote 
against  the  gentiles  a  book  which  Eusebius  commends, 
tlie  object  of  which  was  to  prove  the  superior  anti- 
quity of  Moses  and  the  prophets  to  the  sages  of  Greece 
and  Rome.  He  also  wrote  the  Diatessaro7i  (8iu  xeuaagwv^^ 
an  abridgement  and  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels ;  and 
of  this  Eusebius  speaks  disparagingly. 


250  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Tlieodoret  (Haer.  Fab.  i.  20)  informs  us  that  Tatian 
cut  off  the  genealogies  of  Jesus  and  the  account  of 
his  birth ;  and  Bar-Salibi,  an  oriental  writer  (Asseman. 
Bibl.  Or.  i.  57),  says  his  Diatessaron  began  with  the 
first  words  of  John's  Gospel, '-£'»'  ^Qxn  ¥  ^  Uyog 

Epiphanius  (Haer,  xlvi.  1)  says,  that  some  called  his 
Ta  Siu  Tsaad^y  eiiayyihoy  the  gospcl  accordiug  to  the  He- 
brews. 

This,  I  believe,  is  all  the  reliable  information  we 
have  respecting  this  work  of  Tatian,  which  some  mod- 
ern critics,  as  Eichhorn  and  Schmidt,  would  have  to 
be  a  biography  of  Jesus,  independent  of  our  canon. 
There  is  not  the  least  evidence  of  any  such  thing,  but 
of  the  exact  reverse.  The  most  probable  supposition 
is,  that  it  was  a  harmony  of  our  four  canonical  Gos- 
pels, somewhat  mutilated  and  modified  to  suit  his 
Encratite  views,  and  based '  mainly  on  the  Hebrew 
Matthew ;  as  Tatian,  it  seems,  was  taught  Christianity 
in  Palestine,  and  by  Justin  Martyr.  In  any  event, 
certainly,  nothing  can  be  made  out  of  it  to  the  dispar- 
agement of  our  canonical  Gospels. 

GOSPEL  OF  MARCTON. 

Marcion,  an  anti-Judaizing  Gnostic,  according  to  the 
uncontradicted  testimony  of  antiquity,  published  for 
his  followers  a  gospel,  which  was  simply  the  Gospel 
of  Luke,  mutilated  and  changed  to  suit  his  own  views. 
This  is  the  testimony  of  both  Tertullian  and  Epipha- 
nius (adv.  Marc.  iv.  2,  6;  Haer.  xlii.  11).  Some  of 
the  important  parts  omitted  are  cap.  i.,  ii.  and  iii.  1-9, 
29-35;  XV.  11-32;  xix.  29-46;  xx.  9-18,  37,  38; 
xxii.  35-38,  42-44.     Guericke,  Einlcit.  N.  T.  206. 


APOCRYPHAL     GOSPELS.  251 

The  beginning  of  Marcion's  gospel,  according  to  the 
edition  of  Hahn,  is  as  follows:  "In  the  fifteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Csesar,  God  came  down 
to  Capernaum,  a  city  of  Galilee,  and  was  teaching  on 
the  Sabbath  days.  And  they  were  astonished  at  his 
doctrine,  for  his  word  was  with  power.  And  there 
was  in  the  synagogue  a  man,  having  a  spirit  of  an  un- 
clean devil,  and  he  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  say- 
ing :  "  and  so  on,  word  for  word,  according  to  Luke 
iii.  1 ;  iv.  31-33,  etc.  In  accordance  with  the  above 
representation  of  the  first  appearance  of  Christ  in  Gal- 
ilee, an  ancient  writer  informs  us  that  "Marcionites 
frequently  affirm,  that  the  good  God  suddenly  appeared 
and  came  down  immediately  from  heaven  into  the 
synagogue."  (Pseudo-Orig.  Dial.  p.  823  ;  Thilo,  Codex 
Apoc.  N.  T.  i.  403.) 

The  extract  given  above  may  be  considered  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  book,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it 
compares  with  the  canonical  l^uke.  It  is  perfectly 
plain  from  the  testimony  of  the  ancients,  and  from  an 
inspection  of  the  work  itself,  that  it  is  in  no  sense  a 
rival  of  our  canonical  Gospels,  nor  derived  from  any 
sources  independent  of  them. 

Of  the  other  early  gospels,  sometimes  alluded  to, 
that  of  Bartholomew,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Eusebius  (Hist.  Ecc.  v.  10)  and  Jerome  (De  Vir.  111. 
c.  36),  was  nothing  else  than  the  Hebrew  Gospel  of 
Matthew.  Of  those  ascribed  to  Matthias  and  Thomas, 
no  authentic  trace  remains ;  and  there  is  not  the 
shadow  of  evidence  that  either  of  these  apostles  ever 
wrote  a  gospel.  Those  ascribed  to  Apelles  and  Basi- 
lides  were  nothing  more  than  extracts  from  the  canon- 


252  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

ical  Gospels,  variously  mutilated  and  interpolated. 
None  of  these,  certainly,  are  fit  to  hold  any  rivalship 
with  our  four  which  are  contained  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Arabia  has  been  prolific  in  the  apocryphal  literature 
of  the  New  Testament ;  several  of  the  apocryphal  gos- 
pels have  been  preserved  to  us  through  the  Arabic 
language ;  and  Mohammed  was  much  indebted  to  this 
source  for  his  materials  in  the  construction  of  the  Ko- 
ran. Chapters  iii.  and  xix.  of  that  strange  book  are 
well  worthy  the  perusal  of  every  Christian,  for  they 
contain  a  minute  account  of  the  families  of  Christ  and 
John,  and  all  the  wonderful  circumstances  attending 
their  birth,  in  the  true  Arabic  fashion. 

In  drawing  up  the  preceding  account  of  the  gospel 
fragments  of  the  early  age,  we  have  been  largely  in- 
debted to  De  Wette's  learned  and  vigorous  Introduc- 
tion to  the  New  Testament.  The  German  unbelief 
can  not  now  be  successfully  encountered  without  the 
help  of  the  German  learning.  The  antidote  is  scarcely 
to  be  found  except  where  the  poison  grows.  The 
climes  which  yield  the  most  noxious  plants,  are  the 
very  climes  which  produce  the  most  effective  medi- 
cines, the  sweetest  fruits,  the  most  luxuriant  vegeta-. 
tion. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH 


THE  MODERN  SUBSTITUTES  FOR  THE  GOSPEL  HISTORY  OF 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT, 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  FOUR  GOSPELS,  AS  WE  NOW  HAVE  THEM 
IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

To  every  man  who  feels  the  need  of  religion,  and 
can  not  surrender  his  reason  to  the  tyrannical  and  pre- 
posterous claims  of  the  papacy,  the  four  Gospels,  as  we 
now  have  them  in  the  New  Testament,  are  of  priceless 
value.  The  human  soul,  in  its  wants  and  sorrows  and 
conscious  weakness,  in  view  of  its  brief  existence  on 
earth,  and  the  dread  unknown  which  awaits  it  beyond 
the  grave,  is  greatly  in  want  of  some  ohjectwe  truth  to 
rest  upon ;  and  without  it  the  only  wise  philosophy  is 
that  which  says.  Let  us  eat  and  drink^  for  to-morroiv 
we  die.  If  the  four  Gospels  be  received  as  objectively 
true ;  if  Jesus  Christ,  as  therein  described,  be  an  ac- 
tually existing  personage,  and  our  ever-living,  ever- 
present  friend  and  guide,  then  we  have  what  we  need ; 
then  the  soul  can  rest  and  rejoice ;  then  the  spiritual 
can  gain  a  permanent  victory  over  the  physical ;  our 
life  on  earth  can  be  made  a  time  of  usefulness  and 
peace,  and  our  death  a  season  of  triumph  and  joy. 
Moreover,  having  Jesus  and  the  Gospels  objectively 
true,  on  their  authority  we  have  also  the  other  writings 


254  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  historians,  the  poets, 
and  the  prophets  of  the  Old ;  and  now,  with  an  un- 
mutilated,  unimpeachable  Bible  in  our  hands,  we,  like 
our  fathers,  can  march  through  the  world  with  heads 
erect,  and  a  joyous  courage,  bidding  defiance  to  Satan, 
and  sorrow,  and  wicked  men. 

But  weaken  our  confidence  in  the  Gospels ;  let  them 
be  regarded  as  a  jumble  of  traditions,  partly  true  and 
partly  false,  then  the  chief  effect  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion is,  to  raise  our  hopes  only  to  sink  us  the  deeper 
in  despair;  to  increase  our  fears,  without  showing  us 
definitely  our  danger,  or  teaching  us  how  to  escape  it ; 
our  life  on  earth  is  equally  unfitted  for  sensual  pleasure 
and  for  spiritual  enjoyment ;  and  beyond  the  grave  we 
have  only  just  light  enough  to  make  the  darkness  visi- 
ble. With  the  mere  mockery  of  a  revelation  which  is 
then  left  us,  there  are  but  two  classes  of  men  who  can 
be  satisfied  with  life  as  it  now  exists — namely,  those 
whose  desires  and  aspirations  never  go  beyond  the 
physical  comforts  of  the  external  world,  and  the  proud, 
cold,  self-sufiicient  thinkers,  whose  chief  pleasure  it  is 
to  despise  the  weaknesses  of  their  fellow  creatures,  and 
think  themselves  above  them. 

Entertaining  such  views,  I  confess  I  never  can  read, 
or  listen  to  a  critique  on  the  sacred  writings,  and  espe- 
cially on  the  Gospels,  without  deep  feeling.  If  indiffer- 
ence as  to  the  result,  be  an  essential  qualification  for  a 
good  investigator  of  the  Scriptures,  then  I  must  give 
up  all  hope  of  ever  being  one.  To  the  result  I  can  not 
be  indifferent  if  I  would,  for  there  are  all  my  hopes. 
Who  would  be  expected  to  be  indifferent,  if  the  object 
of  the  investigation  on  which  he  is  obliged  to  enter, 


SUBSTITUTES   FOR    THE    GOSPEL   HIST.      255 

were  to  ascertain  whether  his  father  were  a  cheat,  or 
his  son  a  thief,  or  his  wife  false  ? 

"  But  we  must  have  a  zeal  for  science ;  we  must  let 
truth  work  its  way ;  we  must  be  willing  that  every 
falsehood,  and  every  mistake,  however  long  and  lov- 
ingly cherished,  should  be  torn  from  our  embrace." 
Very  true,  so  we  must ;  but  does  a  proper  regard  for 
science,  a  proper  love  of  truth,  a  proper  hatred  of 
error,  require  the  sacrifice  of  every  humanizing  and 
ennobling  feeling  ?  Is  man,  or  is  he  required  to  be, 
all  intellect  and  no  heart  ?  To  honor  the  mind,  must 
we  crucify  the  soul  ?  Is  he  the  only  anatomist  who 
can  lay  bare  to  his  knife  the  body  of  a  beloved  sister, 
with  the  same  indifference  with  which  he  would  hack 
upon  the  carcass  of  an  unknown  culprit  just  snatched 
from  its  dishonored  grave  ?  I  believe  no  such  thing  ; 
and  while  Christ  is  to  me  more  than  father  or  mother, 
more  than  wife  or  child,  or  my  own  life  even,  I  do  not 
believe  that  sound  philosophy  requires  me  to  see  that 
holy  Gospel,  which  contains  all  that  I  know  of  him, 
treated  by  an  irreverent  critic,  as  the  greedy  swine 
would  treat  a  beautiful  field  of  growing  corn.  Nor 
do  I  believe  that  an  irreverent,  ungodly  critic  is  the 
man  to  do  justice  to  the  Gospels,  or  tell  the  truth  about 
them  fairly,  in  any  sense.  He  may  investigate  their 
language,  and  examine  their  history,  and  give  correctly 
the  results  of  his  verbal  criticisms ;  but  the  real  sub- 
stance of  the  Gospels  is  far  above,  out  of  his  sight ; 
he  can  have  no  sympathy  with  Christ;  he  can  have 
no  conception  of  the  motives  which  influenced  the 
apostles ;  he  can  have  no  idea  of  the  feelings  which 
animated  the  sacred  writers ;  he  is  a  total  stranger  to 


256  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     P,I];LE. 

tlie  whole  soul  of  that  which  he  criticises.  When  a 
man  who  has  never  seen,  can  accurately  describe  col- 
ors, or  one  who  has  never  had  the  sense  of  hearing, 
can  give  a  good  account  of  sounds,  or  a  horse  with 
iron-shod  hoofs  can  play  tunes  on  a  church  organ,  then 
I  will  not  refuse  to  believe  that  an  ungodly  critic  can 
write  a  reliable  book  on  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
only  the  very  lowest  part  of  the  work,  that  such  a 
critic  can  perform ;  and  when  he  comes  to  the  higher 
criticism,  the  interior  life  of  the  word,  he  is  wholly  out 
of  his  sphere.  How  can  a  man  with  no  poetry  in  his 
soul,  review  a  poem  ?  How  can  a  man  with  no  math- 
ematics, properly  estimate  a  treatise  on  fluxions  ?  How 
can  one  destitute  of  the  first  principles  of  taste,  be  a 
critic  in  the  fine  arts  ?  And  how  can  a  man  wholly 
irreligious,  be  a  fit  judge  of  the  most  religious  of  all 
books?  Let  the  Gospels  be  estimat-ed  according  to 
their  real  worth,  and  the  writers  upon  them  according 
to  their  real  worth,  and  then  justice  will  be  done  on 
both  sides.  We  will  refuse  no  help,  and  we  will  repel 
no  truth,  though  it  come  from  the  most  ungodly ;  but 
we  will  not  idolize  intellect  which  has  no  heart,  nor 
allow  profane  hands  to  filch  from  us  our  choicest 
treasures. 

There  is  a  decided  tendency,  in  our  times,  to  award 
peculiar  consideration  and  deference  to  profane  writers 
on  sacred  subjects.  If  an  author  with  the  spirit  and 
principles  and  talent  of  Yoltaire,  were  to  write  a  life 
of  Christ,  or  a  commentary  on  the  Gospels,  or  espe- 
cially an  introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  it  would 
be  just  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  to 
study  and   quote   such   works  with   more   profound 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      257 

respect  than  is  awarded  to  the  writings  of  Luther,  or 
Calvin,  or  Bengel,  or  any  other  writer  who  loves  and 
venerates  the  Word  of  God.  This  whole  tendency  is 
most  particularly  to  be  despised  or  deplored. 

RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  HEGELIAN  PHILOSOPHY. 

The  recent  assaults  on  the  Gospels  have  proceeded 
almost  entirely  from  the  Hegelian  school  of  philoso- 
phy. The  influence  of  this  philosophy  extends  far 
beyond  the  circle  of  its  professed  disciples.  It  is 
found  where  the  very  name  of  Hegel  is  almost  un- 
known, and  where  not  a  syllable  of  his  writings  has 
ever  been  read.  It  invades  Christian  and  even  ortho- 
dox pulpits,  and  sometimes  neutralizes  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  under  the  most  evangelical  forms.  It  is  a  proud 
and  a  godless  philosophy  ;  and,  like  a  cholera  miasma 
in  the  atmosphere,  often  deals  desolation  and  death 
where  its  very  existence  is  unsuspected.  Though  the 
most  abstruse  of  all  speculations,  it  never  exists  as  a 
mere  speculation,  but  immediately  proceeds  to  action 
— and  its  first  acts  are  the  annihilation  of  human  re- 
sponsibility, and  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  of  God 
himself  While  in  some  cases  it  retains  the  woi  ds  and 
phrases  of  the  most  evangelical  faith,  it  expels  from 
them  all  their  meaning,  and  leaves  them  the  mere 
hieroglyphs  of  an  atheistic  mystery.  There  is  a  uni- 
verse but  no  God — there  is  development  but  not  crea- 
tion. 

In  thus  describing  the  religious  character  of  this 

philosophy,  I  am  far  from  intending  a  personal  attack 

on  its  great  founder.     In  many  of  the  qualities  which 

make  up  a  man,  he  was  among  the  noblest  of  men, — 

17 


258  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

a  fine  physical  organization,  a  prodigions  intellect,  and 
a  generous  heart;  and  he  would  probably  himself  be 
one  of  the  first  to  protest  against  the  atheistic  extremes 
of  some  of  his  followers.  Nor  are  his  disciples  all 
alike.  There  is  the  extreme  rights  the  central^  and  the 
extreme  left — or,  as  I  would  characterize  them,  the 
religious^  the  non-religious^  and  the  anti-religious.  On 
the  extreme  right  was  Marheinecke,  a  clear-headed  and 
sound-hearted  Christian  theologian  and  preacher,  one 
of  the  best  historians  and  one  of  the  most  accurate 
reasoners ;  and  how  he  could  be  a  Hegelian  and  the 
author  of  such  works  as  his  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  his  Christian  Symholik  was  always  a  mystery 
to  me.  There,  too,  is  Goeschel,  a  truly  pious  and  em- 
inent jurist ;  but  inasmuch  as  he  could  find  in  Goethe 
an  apostle  of  Christianity,  and  in  the  Faust  a  high  de- 
velopment of  the  Christian  spirit,  it  is  not  so  surprising 
that  he  can  see  in  Hegel  the  Christian  philosophei'. 
Dorner,  too,  one  of  the  best  of  men,  one  of  the  most 
learned,  conscientious  and  reliable  of  writers,  the  au- 
thor of  that  most  admirable  work,  the  Development- 
history  of  the  Doctrine  respecting  the  Person  of  Christ, 
is  said  to  be  a  Hegelian  of  this  class. 

The  assaults  on  the  Gospels  have  proceeded  from  the 
extreme  left,  represented  by  such  men  as  the  younger 
Feuerbach,  and  Strauss  and  Bruno  Bauer,  F.  C.  Baur, 
Renan,  Schenkel,  etc.  This,  I  suppose,  is  the  legiti- 
mate result  of  the  Hegelian  philosophy,  and  these  men, 
whatever  Hegel  himself  might  think  of  them,  I  regard 
as  his  true  followers. 

But  what  is  the  Hegelian  philosophy  ?  I  have  been 
admonished  more  than  once  to  treat  this  ])hil()sophy 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       259 

with  respect,  to  admire  it  at  least  as  an  "  exquisite 
work  of  art  if  not  a  system  of  absolute  truth."  I  shall 
do  my  best  in  this  particular.  I  have  acknowledged 
before,  and  here  repeat  the  acknowledgment,  that  I 
have  no  very  definite  knowledge  of  it.  It  stands  be- 
fore me,  in  its  bulk  and  its  unintelligibleness,  as  a  huge, 
shapeless,  threatening  spectre,  most  fitly  described  in 
the  words  of  Virgil : 

Monstrum  horrendum,  informe,  ingens,  cui  lumen  ademptum. 
(A  monster,  horrid,  hideous,  huge  and  blind.) 

But  when  I  think  of  the  tremendous  influence  it 
exerts,  and  the  mighty  mischief  it  is  making,  it  assumes, 
to  me,  (in  the  language  of  Milton,) 

"  The  other  shape, 
If  shape  it  may  be  called,  which  shape  has  none 
Distinguishable  in  member,  joint,  or  limb  ; 
Or  substance  may  be  called  that  shadow  seems, 
For  each  seems  either ;  black  it  stands  as  night, 
Fierce  as  ten  furies,  terrible  as  hell. 
And  shakes  a  dreadful  dart ;  and  what  seems  its  head 
The  likeness  of  a  kingly  crown  has  on." 

We  speak  here  of  the  Hegelian  philosophy  only  in 
its  connection  with  religion,  and  as  it  now  exists. 
Whatever  of  obscurity  may  rest  over  some  of  its  spec- 
ulations, its  principal  bearings  on  religion  are  perfectly 
intelligible,  and  are  carried  out  to  their  extreme  con- 
sequences with  a  cool  audacity  that  is  almost  frightful. 
According  to  Hegelianism,  the  subjective  is  not  only 
more  than  the  objective^  but  the  subjective  is  the  whole, 
it  is  the  entire  substance,  and  the  objective  has  no  ex- 
istence except  as  the  shadow  or  reflection  or  creation 
Qf  the  subjective.     The  great  discovery  boasted  by  He- 


260  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

gel  and  his  followers,  the  great  first  principle  of  all 
truth,  the  honor  of  whose  development  Schelling  in 
vain  attempted  to  dispute  with  Hegel,  is  the  absolute 
identity  of  subject  and  object.,  that  is,  I  suppose,  the 
thing  perceiving  and  the  thing  perceived  are  one  and 
the  same  thing. 

Admitting  this  as  a  fundamental  principle,  what  is 
God  ?  Is  God  the  creator  of  man,  or  is  man  the  crea- 
tor of  God  ?  The  latter  of  course.  The  human  mind 
is  the  only  development  of  God, — only  by  the  work- 
ings of  the  human  soul  does  God  arrive  at  self-con- 
sciousness ;  and  if  there  were  no  men  there  would  be 
no  God,  as  there  can  be  no  color  without  an  eye,  and 
no  sound  without  an  ear.  There  seems  to  be  recog- 
nized a  sort  of  natura  naturans,  a  sort  of  blind,  uncon- 
scious, fermenting  leaven,  constantly  working ;  but 
this  never  attains  to  personality  or  consciousness  except 
in  the  human  soul. 

We  will  not  ourselves  undertake  to  make  the  state- 
ments of  the  doctrines  of  this  sect — we  will  take  them 
just  as  they  are  made  by  one  of  the  most  able  and 
active  of  the  living  advocates  of  the  system,  in  his 
work  entitled  Das  Wesen  des  Christenthums.  This  is  a 
favorite  book  among  the  Germans  of  our.  own  country, 
and  can  be  obtained  in  any  quantities  at  our  principal 
German  bookstores.  A  brief,  but  very  satisfactory, 
notice  of  it  has  been  given  in  the  Christian  Examiner 
published  in  Boston,  No.  clxi. 

Says  this  writer,  "  The  absolute  Being,  the  God  of 
man,  is  man's  own  being."  "  Since  God  is  but  our 
own  being,  the  power  of  any  object  over  us,  is  the 
might  of  our  own  being.     In  willing,  loving,  feeling, 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      261 

etc.,  there  is  no  influence  but  of  ourselves  over  our- 
selves." "All  limiting  of  the  reason  rests  on  error." 
"Every  being  is  all-sufficient  to  itself"  "It  is  delu- 
sion to  suppose  the  nature  of  man  a  limited  nature." 
"  Religion  is  the  consciousness  of  the  infinite ;  it  is 
and  can  be  nothing  but  man's  consciousness  of  his  own 
infinite  being."  "  If  you  think  infinity,  or  feel  infinity, 
it  is  the  infinity  of  thought  and  feeling,  nothing  else. 
The  knowledge  of  God  is  the  knowledge  of  our- 
selves ;  for  the  religious  object  is  within  us."  "  God  is 
man's  revealed  inner  nature — his  pronounced  self 
Religion  is  the  solemn  unveiling  of  the  concealed 
treasures  of  humanity,  the  disclosure  of  its  secret 
thoughts,  the  confession  of  its  dearest  secrets.  The 
Christian  religion  is  the  relation  of  man  to  his  own 
being  as  to  another  being."  "Religion  is  the  dream 
of  the  human  soul." 

This  is  not  caricature,  nor  ridicule,  nor  misrepresen- 
tation. It  is  just  a  plain  statement  of  some  of  the 
prominent  doctrines  of  the  system,  by  one  of  its  most 
able  advocates.  There  is  no  God ;  and  the  devout 
man,  when  he  thinks  he  is  worshippng  God,  is  simply 
worshipping  himself  There  is  no  accountability ; 
there  is  no  individual  immortality ;  when  a  man  dies, 
his  soul  is  re-absorbed  into  the  great  mass  of  being,  by 
the  natura  naturmis  to  be  again,  perhaps,  in  time  de- 
veloped, and  so  on  from  eternity  to  eternity.  These 
principles  are  boldly  and  openly  avowed,  and  find  able 
and  popular  advocates  both  in  Germany  and  in  this 
country.  One  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  German 
republicans.  Dr.  Voight  of  Giessen,  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1848,  declared  publicly  in  the  Frankfort  par- 


2G2  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

liament,  that  there  could  be  no  permanent  freedom, 
till  the  idea  of  God  and  all  responsibility  to  God  were 
entirely  banished  from  the  human  mind.  No  wonder 
that  the  German  revolution,  with  such  men  to  lead  it, 
proved  a  miserable  failure.  No  wonder  that  the  pious, 
intelligent,  sober  men  of  Europe,  viewed  the  whole 
movement  with  distrust,  and  finally  abandoned  it  alto- 
gether. Atheistic  liberty  is  the  worst  kind  of  tyr- 
anny. An  editorial  article  in  a  political  newspaper 
published  in  Cincinnati,  says,  "Religion  is  the  cause 
of  all  the  oppression  which  exists ;  inasmuch  as  it  ca- 
joles poor  sufferers  with  the  chimerical  idea  of  a  heaven 
hereafter ;  and  the  source  of  religion  is  want  of  educa- 
tion, ignorance.  This  is  the  origin  of  all  evil."  The 
same  principles,  with  a  little  more  regard  to  religious 
public  sentiment,  and  partially  disguised  under  a  garb 
of  specious  phraseology,  are  zealously  propagated  in 
New  England,  and  infect  large  numbers  especially  of 
our  educated  young  men.  Before  they  begin  to  feel 
the  need  of  religion,  the  foundation  of  religious  faith 
is  taken  away.  For  this  work  of  ruin,  the  genius  of 
Hegelianism  has  peculiar  facilities.  It  can  approach 
unperceived,  and  accomplish  its  purpose  before  its 
presence  is  suspected.  It  can  use  the  language  of  any 
theology,  even  the  most  orthodox,  and  convey  its  own 
ideas  in  the  words  of  an  evangelical  faith,  and  here  is 
our  danger  now. 

One  of  the  phrases  already  quoted  from  Feuerbach, 
may  serve  as  an  example  of  the  deceptive  manner  in 
which  language  may  ])e  used.  It  is  this,  "God  is 
man's  inner  nature,  his  pronounced  self"  Here  it  may 
be  alleged,  is  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  the  Lo- 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       2G3 

gos,  the  God-man,  God  revealed ;  and  in  like  manner 
we  may  get  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  that  may  be  consid- 
ered to  be  the  inner  nature  of  man  re-acting  upon  itself, 
and  this  may  be  called  that  spiritual  influence  which 
good  men  crave  and  pray  for.  Thus  can  the  Hegelian 
atheist,  with  most  conscientious  deceptiveness,  use  all 
the  language  of  the  Trinitarian  Christian. 

With  this  philosophy,  testimony  is  nothing,  objective 
narrative  is  nothing,  history  is  not  to  be  learned  from 
external  sources,  it  must  be  developed  from  within — 
facts  must  not  be  sought  for,  they  must  be  made ;  and 
on  this  principle  these  philosophers  act  with  great  con- 
sistency and  vigor,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  come  to  ex- 
amine their  theories  of  the  Gospel  history.  Another  of 
the  principles  of  this  philosophy  is  eminently  a  practical 
one,  namely,  that  "  man  is  God,  and  must  worship  him- 
self" This  the  Hegelians  do  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
devotion.  Such  self-worship  was  never  before  witnessed 
on  earth.  The  enormous  self-conceit  of  these  men, 
the  self-conceit  of  Hegel  himself,  the  pitiful  folly  of 
his  admirers  who  pronounced  their  eulogies  over  his 
grave,  are  among  the  greatest  monstrosities  which  ever 
existed  on  this  planet  of  monsters,  comparable  to 
nothing  but  the  lizards  larger  than  ten  whales,  and  the 
frogs  bigger  than  elephants,  which  are  said  to  have 
existed  on  the  pre-Adamite  earth.  Self-conceit  is  a 
symptom  of  the  disease.  The  venerated  Neander,  in 
a  letter  to  Prof  Schaff  of  Mercersburg,  justly  charac- 
terizes the  system  as  "the  philosophy  of  a  one-sided 
logic,  of  intellectual  fanaticism,  and  of  self-deification^ 
My  respected  friend,  Prof  S.  himself,  I  am  happy  to 
see,  takes  no  exceptions  to  this  view  of  the  subject. 


264  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Indeed,  lie  himself  calls  this  kind  of  Hegelianism,  an 
"  arrogant  pantheism,  different  from  atheism  only  in 
form" — "a  lifeless  formalism  of  the  understanding, 
that  destroys  at  last  all  soul  in  man,  and  turns  him  into 
a  pure  speculator  on  the  open  heath,  an  unfruitful 
thinker  of  thinking,  a  heartless  critic  and  fault-finder." 
(Schaff's  Kirchenfreund  for  Jan.,  1851,  also  Mercers- 
burg  Review,  vol.  iii.  p.  81,  ff.) 

There  is  no  disinterestedness  in  this  philosophy,  there 
is  no  veneration,  there  is  no  love.  Each  being  is  all- 
sufi&cient  to  itself,  and  each  revolves  around  itself  as  its 
own  centre,  and  each  is  at  the  same  time  both  planet  and 
sun,  both  axis  and  orbit.  And  what  can  come  of  such 
kind  of  principles,  but  selfishness,  and  animalism,  and 
every  evil  work? 

Now,  it  is  such  philosophers  as  these,  who  presume 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  New  Testament,  to  estimate 
the  characters  therein  portrayed,  to  determine  as  to 
what  is,  and  what  is  not,  fitting  in  a  revelation  from 
God  to  man ;  to  decide  with  solemn  majesty  a  priori^ 
from  internal  marks  only,  out  of  the  depth  of  their 
own  consciousness,  and  with  nothing  else  to  aid  them, 
as  to  what  is  spurious,  and  what  is  genuine,  in  the 
sacred  writings !  IIow  well  they  succeed,  we  shall  see 
as  we  go  on.  And  we  will  only  say  here,  that  if  op- 
posites  are  the  best  judges  of  opposites,  if  goats  are 
the  best  judges  of  perfumes,  if  worms  have  suitable 
qualifications  to  decide  on  the  merits  of  eagles,  then 
are  these  men  qualified  to  sit  in  judgment  on  Jesus, 
and  the  apostles,  and  the  wi'iters  of  the  Gospels.  Yet 
their  writings  are  published,  translated  into  different 
languages,    and   extensively   read.     In  various  ways 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       265 

they  exert  a  great  influence  even  over  those  who  never 
read  them  ;  the  echoes  of  their  voice  reverberate  from 
many  a  newspaper  and  popular  periodical ;  their  sound 
is  heard  in  many  a  lyceum,  and  mechanics'  institute, 
and  mercantile  association,  and  debating  club ;  they 
inflate  the  vanity,  and  heighten  the  self-conceit,  and 
set  loose  the  passions  of  many  a  young  man  in  our 
institutions  of  learning,  and  in  our  mercantile  and  man- 
ufacturing establishments,  and  produce  extensively  a 
ruinous  infection  in  the  whole  intellectual  atmosphere 
— not  sparing  even  the  theological  school,  the  minis- 
terial study,  or  the  Christian  pulpit. 

So  many  ingenious  ways  do  poor  short-lived  men  de- 
vise, and  such  infinite  pains  do  they  take,  to  rid  them- 
selves of  God  their  heavenly  Father,  of  Christ  their  gra- 
cious and  only  Saviour.  It  is  often  and  justly  remarked 
of  rogues  and  freebooters,  that  they  employ  far  more 
ingenuity,  and  energy,  and  perseverance,  to  get  a  liv- 
ing by  dishonesty,  than  would  be  necessary  to  make 
them  securely  and  reputably  wealthy  in  an  honorable 
calling;  yet,  they  are  always  poor,  and  in  constant 
dread  of  detection  and  punishment.  So  these  proud 
thinkers  tax  their  minds  and  hearts  more  severely  to 
be  irreligious,  than  would  be  necessary  to  secure  an 
eminent  place  in  the  Christian  walk ;  while  they  can 
look  only  for  the  ivages  of  sin^  which  is  death  ;  while 
iJie  gift  of  God^  and  that  only,  is  life  and  peace.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Scripture,  it  is  the  fool  lulio  hath  said  in 
Ms  hearty  there  is  no  God  ^  and  the  same  Scripture 
says.  The  fool  is  wiser  in  his  oivn  conceit.,  than  seven 
men  that  can  render  a  reason  y  and,  though  you  hray  a 
fool  in  a  mortar  with  a  pestle  among  wheats  yet  will  not 


2GG  THE    BOOKS    of    the    bible. 

his  folly  depart  from  Mm..     IIow  wonderfully  descrip- 
tive of  the  foolishness  of  Hegelian  pantheistic  atheism ! 

ANALYSIS    AND    CHARACTERISTICS    OF   THE  PRINCPAL  HEGE- 
LIAN ASSAULTS  ON  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  four  Gospels  exist,  they  have  for  ages  existed 
in  all  the  languages  of  the  civilized  world,  they  have 
produced  the  most  astonishing  revolutions,  they  lie  at 
the  foundation  of  all  modern  civilization ;  they  did  not 
arise  in  a  remote  anticjuity  nor  in  a  fabulous  era,  but  in 
the  zenith  of  the  Roman  empire  and  in  immediate  con- 
tact with  the  Grecian  culture.  The  problem  of  the 
philosophic  sceptic  is  to  account  for  all  this,  on  any 
other  supposition  than  that  of  the  historical  truth  of 
the  Gospel  narrative  and  the  reality  of  miraculous  in- 
terposition. The  first  regular,  systematic,  Hegelian 
attempt  towards  the  solution  of  this  great  problem  was 
made  in  1836  by  David  Frederic  Strauss,  then  a  young 
man  just  commencing  his  career  as  a  teacher  in  the 
university  of  Tuebingen.  I  was  in  Germany  at  the 
time  when  Strauss's  Life  of  Jesus  first  appeared,  and 
it  was  exciting  as  great  a  commotion  among  the  learned 
of  Germany  then,  as  a  few  years  after  the  prophesying 
of  the  millenarian  Miller  excited  mong  the  unlearned 
in  America.  That  was  the  year  fixed  on  by  Bengel 
for  the  end  of  the  world ;  and  many  who  had  no  faith 
in  Bengel  or  the  apostle  John,  yet  devoutly  believing 
in  Strauss,  thought  surely  the  end  of  Christianity  had 
come.  Prof  Tholuck  told  me  he  considered  it  the 
most  formidable  attack  the  New  Testament  had  ever 
sustained,  and  he  was  right  heartily  at  work  in  answer- 
ing it,  and  soon  after  published  his  excellent  book  on 


SUBSTITUTES    FOB    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      267 

the  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History.  The  answers 
to  Strauss  were  numerous,  almost  numberless,  the  con- 
troversy raged  with  great  vigor  for  some  six  or  eight 
years ;  but  now  Strauss,  before  he  is  an  old  man,  finds 
himself  an  obsolete  and  antiquated  writer ;  as  much 
so  as  was,  when  he  began,  the  old  Paulus  whom  he 
treated  so  cavalierly.  But  though  Strauss  is  already 
intellectually  dead  and  buried,  never  to  rise  again, 
among  the  Germans,  he  just  begins  to  live  among 
those  who  use  the  English  language,  and  translations 
of  his  book  are  read  with  the  most  innocent  wonder- 
ment by  many  of  our  young  men,  who  have  no  know- 
ledge of  the  fact  that  it  has  long  since  been  thoroughly 
exposed  and  exploded  in  the  land  of  its  birth.  In  the 
track  of  Strauss,  with  more  or  less  of  divergency,  fol- 
lowed Weisse,  Gfroerer,  Bruno  Bauer,  Wilke,  Schw^eit- 
zer,  Schwegler,  Leutzelberger,  F.  C.  Baur,  Renan,  Scheu- 
kel,  and  many,  many  others ;  the  greater  part  of  whom 
remain  unto  this  jpresent^  though,  as  to  any  influence, 
they  have  already  -mostly  fallen  asleep. 

In  analyzing  some  of  the  principal  Hegelian  hypoth- 
eses of  the  Gospel  history,  as  specimens  of  the  whole, 
we  shall  avail  ourselves  liberally  of  the  labors  of 
Ebrard,  who  in  his  admirable  work,  entitled  Wisseii- 
schaftliche  Kritik  der  evangelisclien  Geschichte^  has  with 
great  industry,  skill  and  fairness,  epitomized,  arranged, 
and  made  them  intelligible. 

(1)    HYPOTHESIS    OF    STRAUSS. 

(a)  TJie  facts  out  of  luhich  the  Gosjjel  narratives 
have  arisen.  These  according  to  Strauss,  were  very 
few,  and  mainly  the  following:    The  Jewish  nation, 


268  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

during  the  reigns  of  Augustus  and  Tiberias,  had  the 
expectation  of  a  national  Messiah,  predicted  in  the  Old 
Testament,  who  would  be  a  political  deliverer  and 
work  miracles  greater  than  Moses  wrought.  At  this 
period  there  was  a  Jew  born  at  Nazareth  in  Galilee 
named  Jeschuah,  (the  sceptic  sometimes  gains  consid- 
erably by  simply  changing  the  orthography  of  a  well- 
known  name)  ;  and  another  Jew,  by  the  name  of  John, 
became  a  celebrated  ascetic  preacher  and  baptizer. 
Jeschuah  attached  himself  to  John  as  one  of  his  disciples; 
and  after  the  imprisonment  of  the  latter,  prosecuted 
the  same  work,  and  gathered  disciples  of  his  own. 
Jeschuah  now  formed  the  design  of  effecting  by  his 
doctrine  the  moral  regeneration  of  his  countrymen ; 
and  being  under  the  influence  of  the  supernatural 
prejudices  of  his  times,  imagined  that  God  would  in- 
terpose to  help  him  in  so  worthy  an  attempt,  and  to 
re-establish  the  kingdom  of  David.  This  idea  corres- 
ponded very  nearly  to  the  Messianic  expectations  of 
the  Jews  ;  and  they,  hearing  him  preach  from  time  to 
time,  began  to  think  whether  he  might  not  be  the  ex- 
pected Messiah.  At  first,  Jeschuah  shrunk  from  such 
a  thought,  but  gradually  became  reconciled  to  it,  and 
at  length  it  gained  full  possession  of  his  mind.  He 
was  however,  entirely  destitute  of  the  means  of  carry- 
ing out  this  idea  in  practice,  for  he  had  no  political 
influence  nor  any  power  of  working  miracles.  lie  saw 
that  the  all-powerful  priest  party  was  daily  becoming 
more  and  more  incensed  against  him ;  the  unhappy 
fate  of  the  persecuted  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament 
dwelt  on  his  mind ;  some  texts  of  the  Old  Testament, 
as  he  began  to  think,  indicated  a  suffering  and  dying 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       269 

Messiah ;  and,  on  the  whole,  he  at  length  anticipated 
a  violent  death  from  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  His 
anticipations  were  realized,  and  he  perished  on  the 
cross  in  early  life. 

This,  according  to  Strauss,  is  the  whole  of  the  his- 
torical basis  of  the  Gospels.  There  were  no  miracles 
wrought,  nor  even  pretended  to  be  wrought,  during 
the  lifetime  of  Jesus ;  nor  did  he,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  career,  imagine  himself  to  be  the  Messiah, 
nor  anticipate  the  sad  fate  which  at  length  overtook 
him. 

(b)  Origin  of  the  miraculous  stories  of  the  Gospels. 
The  disciples  of  Jeschuah  believed  him  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah ;  and  when  the  first  shock  of  his  terrible  end  and 
of  their  own  bitter  disappointment  was  past,  they  set 
themselves  to  devise  some  method  of  reconciling  actual 
facts  with  their  cherished  expectations,  and  especially 
to  see  if  they  could  not  in  some  way  get  the  idea  of 
suflfering  and  death  into  their  notion  of  the  Messiah. 
They  searched  the  Old  Testament,  and  found  many 
passages  which  represented  men  of  God  as  plagued, 
persecuted  and  slain ;  and  these  answered  to  them  for 
Messianic  predictions.  The  Messiah,  then,  though  de- 
parted, was  not  lost ;  he  had  only  gone  into  his  glory ; 
he  must  still  love  and  care  for  his  own.  This  idea 
took  such  complete  possession  of  their  minds,  that 
some  of  the  women  began  to  imagine  they  had  actu- 
ally seen  him  after  his  burial,  and  they  so  said  to  the 
men — and  the  whole  company  became  so  excited  and 
talked  about  the  matter  so  much,  and  got  their  imag- 
inations so  inflamed,  that  two  or  three  times,  when 
they  were  gathered  together,  some  object  dimly  seen 


270  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

in  the  mountain  mist,  or  some  unknown  person  ap- 
proaching  them,  gave  them  the  impression  that  they 
had  actually  seen  the  Lord  in  bodily  presence. 

The  great  miracle  of  the  resurrection,  being  thus 
generated  and  born  and  brought  into  the  world,  be- 
comes the  fruitful  parent  of  other  miracles.  Accord- 
ing to  the  expectation  of  the  Jews,  the  Messiah  must 
work  miracles,  and  if  Jeschuah  wrought  no  miracles, 
how  could  he  be  the  Messiah  ?  The  matter  was  anx- 
iously thought  of,  and  the  remembered  words  and 
deeds  of  Jeschuah  were  scrutinized  to  see  if  they 
might  contain  any  germs  out  of  which  miraculous  nar- 
ratives could  naturally  grow.  He  had  told  them  they 
should  be  fishers  of  men — happy  reminiscence !  what 
more  natural  than  that  out  of  this  should  grow  the  story 
of  the  miraculous  draught  of  fishes  ?  He  had  said  the 
unfruitful  tree  should  be  cut  down ;  and  here  we  have 
the  nucleus  of  the  fig-tree  which  was  cursed  and  with- 
ered away.  True,  the  apostles  could  not  themselves 
imagine  that  they  had  with  their  own  eyes  seen  these 
miracles ;  but  knowing  as  they  did,  that  the  Messiah 
must  work  miracles,  they  could  not  doubt  that  such 
miracles  actually  occurred.  At  least,  if  this  was  not 
the  idea  of  the  apostles,  it  must  have  occurred  to 
those  who  had  seen  but  little  of  Christ  while  he  was 
on  earth,  and  it  became  the  popular  belief  of  most  of 
the  Christian  congregations. 

The  miracles  being  thus  set  on  growing  by  Strauss, 
their  increase  is  very  rapid,  and  many  a  scion  from  the 
Old  Testament  tree  is  grafted  into  the  New,  "and  imme- 
diately bears  fruit.  The  hand  of  Moses,  the  face  of 
Miriam,  the  body  of  Naaman,  had  been  leprous,  and 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      271 

were  cured  at  a  word ;  and  the  Messiah  of  course 
could  heal  leprosy  as  well  as  Moses  and  Elijah,  and 
therefore  he  did.  As  Jordan  occasioned  miraculous 
cures  in  the  Old  Testament,  so  Siloam  in  the  New ; 
as  Elijah  struck  men  with  blindness  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, so  Christ  cured  blind  men  in  the  New ;  as  Jero- 
boam's withered  hand  was  restored  in  the  Old  Testg;- 
ment,  so  Christ  healed  withered  hands  in  the  New  ; 
as  Moses  divided  the  Red  Sea,  so  Christ  stilled  the 
Galilean  Sea;  as  Moses  turned  water  into  blood,  so 
Christ  turned  water  into  wine — and  so  all  the  miracles 
of  the  Old  Testament  find  parallels  in  the  New ;  and 
this  accounts  for  very  many  of  the  miraculous  narra- 
tives of  the  New  Testament.  But  Strauss  does  not 
so  clearly  tell  us  how  to  account  for  these  miracles  of 
the  Old  Testament.  On  his  principles,  however,  it  is 
very  easy  to  invent  methods,  and  any  invention  is  pre- 
ferable to  the  plain,  simple,  matter-of-fact  truth. 

As  with  the  doings  of  Christ,  so  with  his  sayings ; 
those  which  stand  recorded  are  compositions,  ampli- 
fications, from  brief  hints  of  his  remembered  apo- 
thegms. 

Now  we  have  the  materials  of  the  Gospel  story,  and 
after  a  while,  one  and  another  writer  works  up  these 
materials  into  a  written  narrative  of  which  we  have 
four  still  extant,  ascribed  severally  to  Matthew  and 
Mark,  to  Luke  and  John. 

(c)  Estimate  of  this  hypothesis.  Such  is  the  hy- 
pothesis of  Strauss ;  and  this  sort  of  stuff  forms  the 
staple  of  two  thick,  heavy  volumes  (three  in  the  En- 
glish translation),  written  with  great  energy,  clearness 
and  show  of  learning,  apparently  in  the  most  sober 


272  THE     BOOKS     OF     TPIE     BIBLE, 

earnest,  and  giving  evidence  of  untiring  industry. 
And  tliese  volumes  have  set  the  world  on  fire,  and  in 
the  opinion  of  many  have  demolished  the  very  founda- 
tions of  Christianity,  and  left  the  world  without  a 
Saviour,  and  almost  without  a  God.  What  a  mon- 
strosity ;  in  every  view  of  it  a  monstrosity !  The 
church  of  Christ  is  an  accomplished  fact,  a  most  migh- 
ty, efficient,  working  fact — a  fact  which  confessedly 
began  at  the  time  alleged — and  does  the  hypothesis 
of  Strauss  give  us  means  in  the  least  degree  adequate 
to  account  for  this  fact  ?  The  African  who  imagines 
that  when  the  moon  is  in  an  eclipse,  there  is  a  great 
serpent  attempting  to  swallow  her,  and  the  child  who 
supposes  that  when  it  thunders,  God  is  riding  in  a  big 
wagon  over  a  tin  bridge,  are  philosophers  of  the  high- 
est order  in  comparison  with  Strauss  as  he  exhibits 
himself  in  his  Lehen  Jesu. 

What  an  inexplicable  enigma  is  that  Jeschuah,  for 
whose  existence  we  are  indebted  solely  to  the  imagin- 
ation of  Strauss.  What  unheard  of,  unaccountable 
compounds  of  knavery  and  goodness,  of  silliness  and 
greatness,  are  Strauss's  disciples  of  Jeschuah !  What 
wonderful  proficients  in  stupidity  must  have  been  the 
men  of  that  generation,  and  the  generation  immedi- 
ately succeeding !  How  could  myths  arise  and  gain 
credence,  in  the  manner  and  to  the  extent  which  he 
dreams  of,  in  the  same  generation  and  the  same  country 
wherein  the  ficts  are  alleged  to  have  occurred  ?  This 
difficulty  is  felt  by  Strauss,  and  he  attempts  to  get  rid 
of  it  by  supposing  that  the  stories  originated  mostly 
in  those  parts  of  Palestine  east  of  the  Jordan,  where 
Christ  had  personally  seldom  appeared.     The  whole 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       273 

of  Palestine  has  scarcely  one  quarter  tlie  extent  of  the 
State  of  Maine ;  and  can  men  in  Maine  lie  with  impunity, 
by  going  east  of  the  Penobscot  ?  That  was  an  active,  en- 
lightened, revolutionizing,  realistic  age.  The  whole 
world  was  in  motion,  nations  intermingled  with  each 
other,  languages  were  cultivated-— commerce,  literature, 
the  arts,  military  operations,  kept  everything  a-stir,  and 
there  was  neither  sluggishness,  nor  stagnation,  nor 
mental  stupor  to  favor  the  growth  of  a  new  mythology. 
One  might  as  well  look  for  the  growth  of  mushrooms 
at  midday  on  the  pavement  of  the  Royal  Exchange  in 
London,  under  the  tread  of  the  thousands  of  feet 
which  daily  there  perambulate,  as  expect  the  prosper- 
ous development  of  such  myths  as  Strauss  dreams  of, 
in  such  an  age  and  country  as  that  which  witnessed 
the  lives  and  deeds  of  Christ  and  his  disciples. 

Again,  how  does  Strauss  know  that  matters  came 
about  in  the  way  which  he  represents?  Who  told 
him  ?  or  was  he  there  to  see  ?  What  authority  does 
he  bring,  that  we  should  postpone  to  this  single  state- 
ment the  testimony  of  prophets  and  apostles  and  mar- 
tyrs ?  Ah !  he  knows  it  by  the  Hegelian  power  of  in- 
tuition— by  means  of  which  history  is  constructed 
subjectively,  instead  of  being  objectively  learned 
from  the  proper  sources.  In  such  constructive  his- 
tory, or  rather  theories  of  history,  we  have  no  confi- 
dence. 

Yet  there  is  in  Strauss's  book  not  a  little  of  learn- 
ing, and  a  great  amount  of  acuteness  and  ingenuity. 
He  starts  many  difficulties  in  the  Gospel  narrative, 
which  it  requires  a  clear  head  and  a  steady  hand  and  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  effectually  to 
18 


274  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

obviate.  His  book  has  exerted  a  great  and  pernicioiis 
influence  in  Europe,  and  is  doing  the  same  in  this 
country.  By  means  of  English  translations  he  is  in 
the  hands  of  many  young  men  who  are  greedily  read- 
ing him  without  any  sufi&cient  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject to  detect  the  groundlessness  of  his  assumptions 
or  the  fallaciousness  of  his  reasonings;  and  without 
dreaming  that  he  has  already  been  thoroughly  refuted 
and  antiquated  in  his  own  country.  In  the  German 
bookstores  the  critical  luritings  of  Strauss  and  the 
theological  ivritings  of  Tom  Paine  stand  on  the  same 
shelf,  and  are  apparently  held  in  equal  honor.  Why 
should  it  not  be  so  with  us?  In  what  respect  is 
Strauss  so  much  better  than  Paine,  that  he  should  be 
respected  while  Paine  is  despised  ?  If  he  has  more 
learning  and  more  decency  than  Paine,  he  certainly 
has  much  less  of  sound,  practical  common  sense.  And 
we  are  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  add,  that  much  of  what 
De  Wette  has  said  about  the  Old  Testament  (made 
current  among  us  by  Theodore  Parker's  translations) 
is  very  little  better  than  what  Strauss  says  about  the 
New.  Since  the  blazing  celebrity  of  Renan  has  thrown 
its  glare  over  the  world,  Strauss  has  entirely  re-written 
his  life  of  Jesus,  but  with  no  essential  improvement. 

(2)    HYPOTHESIS  OF  WEISSE. 

Chr.  Herm.  Weisse  is  an  older  man  than  Strauss,  a 
philosopher  of  no  mean  pretensions,  and  a  metaphysi- 
cian. He  had  published  a  work  on  the  Fundamental 
Principles  of  Metaphysics^  another  on  the  Idea  of  God^ 
a  System  of  Aesthetics^  etc. ;  and  in  1838,  awakened 
by  the  celebrity  of  Strauss,  he  published  a  book  enti- 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      275 

tied  the  Gospel  History  critically  and  philosophically 
investigated  (bearheitet,  belabored).  Weisse  understands 
animal  magnetism,  and  all  the  mysteries  of  clairvoy- 
ance. 

(a)  The  facts  out  of  which  the  Gosjjel  narratives 
have  arisen.  There  lived  in  Palestine  during  the  reign 
of  Tiberias  a  good  man,  one  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who 
among  other  happy  gifts,  possessed  the  magnetic  power 
of  healing.  He  was  in  fact  a  full  charged  galvanic 
battery,  ready  at  any  touch  to  be  discharged.  He 
went  about  Galilee  preaching,  collecting  disciples,  and 
applying  his  magnetic  power  to  the  healing  of  diseases 
and  the  quieting  of  demoniacs ;  so  that  he  very  natu- 
rally gained  the  affections  of  the  Galileans,  who  recog- 
nized in  him  the  Messiah,  and  would  have  been  glad 
to  make  him  king.  But,  though  he  felt  his  Messiah- 
ship,  he  had  no  political  ambition,  and  sought  rather 
the  moral  elevation  of  the  people ;  and  in  prosecution 
of  this  purpose  he  uttered  many  parables.  Thus  he 
represented  the  blessed  effects  of  his  ministry  under 
the  image  of  the  opening  of  the  heavens  and  the  de- 
scent of  a  dove ;  the  strong  faith  which  men  should 
exercise  in  the  grace  of  God,  by  the  parable  of  a  Ca- 
naanitish  woman  seeking  help  of  a  Jew,  and  taking 
no  denial ;  the  judgment  which  is  to  come  upon  men 
spiritually  unfruitful,  by  the  image  of  a  barren  fig-tree 
cursed  and  withered ;  the  regeneration  of  the  world 
by  his  word  he  compares  to  turning  water  into  wine, 
etc..  He  once  occasioned  great  excitement  by  awak- 
ening a  maiden  who  had  fallen  into  a  swoon  and  was 
supposed  to  be  dead.  He  never  went  to  Jerusalem 
but  once,  and  that  was  at  the  feast  of  the  passover, 


276  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

when  he  was  immediately  apprehended  and  crucified. 
We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  prayed  aloud 
the  night  before  his  apprehension ;  or  that  he  said 
when  they  were  nailing  him  to  the  cross,  Father^  for- 
give them^  for  they  know  not  ivhat  they  do.  During  his 
crucifixion  there  was  an  accidental  obscurity  of  the 
heavens  which  made  much  talk.  He  was  buried,  and 
his  body  remained  in  the  tomb  ;  but  his  nervo-magnetic 
spirit  once  appeared  to  his  disciples  and  passed  up  into 
the  clouds. 

(b)  Origin  of  the  miraculous  stoines.  These  all 
came  very  naturally.  After  the  death  of  Jesus  his 
parables  were  turned  into  stories,  and  men  thought 
they  were  actual  occurrences.  (How  many  times  has 
this  happened  in  respect  to  ^sop's  fables!)  These 
stories  were  not  propagated  by  the  apostles  ;  they 
busied  themselves  only  with  teaching  the  doctrines  of 
their  Master,  and  said  nothing  about  his  biography. 
But  somebody  told  the  stories  and  found  people  to 
believe  them ;  and  other  stories  were  made  from  very 
trivial  circumstances.  From  what  he  once  casually 
said,  that  he  luhose  feet  are  toashed  is  every  whit  clean., 
arose  the  story  of  his  having  washed  his  disciples' 
feet ;  the  apostles  practised  baptism,  and  after  a  while 
began  to  think  (Weisse  does  not  tell  us  why)  that  Je- 
sus had  instituted  such  a  rite.  Once,  after  Jesus' 
death,  when  the  apostles  were  at  supper  together,  they 
became  greatly  excited  with  the  idea  of  prosecuting 
the  work  which  he  had  left  unfinished ;  and  this  gave 
rise  to  the  story  that  Christ  himself  had  instituted  the 
Lord's  Supper;  and  also  to  the  tradition,  so  much 
like  the  theophanies  of  Homer,  of  his  supping  with 
the  two  disciples  at  Emmaus  after  his  crucifixion. 


SUBSTITUTES     FOR     THE      GOSPEL     HIST.       277 

(c)  Origin  of  the  written  Gospels.  According  to 
the  testimony  of  Papias,  (says  Weisse,)  the  apostle 
Matthew  wrote  in  the  Hebrew  of  that  time,  a  collec- 
tion of  the  discourses  of  Jesus.  According  to  the 
same  authority,  Mark,  a  scholar  of  Peter,  wrote  a  hiog- 
rapliy  of  Jesus,  as  he  had  heard  Peter  relate  it ;  and 
afterwards  this  narrative  of  Mark  was  combined  with 
Matthew's  collection  of  discourses,  (now  translated 
into  Greek,)  and  this  compilation  is  our  present  Greek 
Gospel  of  Matthew.  Meanwhile,  Luke,  the  companion 
of  Paul,  had  written  another  biography  from  inde- 
pendent sources.  Here  we  have  the  first  three  Gos- 
pels. As  to  the  fourth  Gospel,  ascribed  to  John,  it 
was  not  originally  intended  for  a  biography  at  all ;  but 
the  apostle  John,  when  he  was  a  very  old  man,  con- 
tinually pondering  over  his  ideal  of  the  life  of  Christ, 
(now  growing  very  dim  and  shadowy,)  that  he  might 
not  lose  entirely  this  image  out  of  his  mind,  wrote 
down  fragmentary  notices,  as  they  happened  to  occur 
to  him,  without  any  view  to  publication,  and  not  even 
intending  any  real  objective  biography,  but  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  defining  and  fixing  his  own  subjective 
ideal.  But,  after  the  good  apostle's  death,  some  un- 
lucky elders  found  these  fragments  in  his  study,  and  im- 
agining they  were  written  as  an  actual  memoir  of  Jesus, 
arranged  them  for  publication,  and  gave  them  to  the 
world,  with  such  modifications,  additions,  and  connect- 
ing sentences,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  case  seemed  to 
require.     Thus  we  have  our  present  Gospel  of  John. 

(d)  Estimate  of  this  hypothesis.  The  reader  must 
understand  that  Weisse  does  not  even  pretend  to 
have  any  testimony  as  to  the  facts  being  as  he  states 


278  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

them.  He  would  think  it  unworthy  of  a  philosopher 
like  him  to  come  at  a  historical  result  in  that  way.  It 
is  but  a  specimen  of  the  developing  of  history  from 
internal  consciousness,  instead  of  learning  it  from  ex- 
ternal evidence.  To  illustrate  the  safety  and  accuracy 
of  this  method  of  developing  historical  facts,  let  us  try 
it  in  reference  to  some  book  of  American  biography. 
Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  as  we  now  have  it,  was 
not  written  by  Judge  Marshall,  except  detached  por- 
tions of  it,  nor  has  the  book  been  seen  in  the  United 
States,  till  within  a  few  months  past.  The  origin  of 
the  work  was  this :  During  the  nullification  excitement 
of  1827,  Hon.  John  Holmes  of  Maine  amused  himself 
by  writing  notes  across  the  Senate  Chamber,  to  Hon. 
T.  H.  Benton  of  Missouri.  Mr.  Benton  preserved  these 
notes,  thinking  he  might  sometime  have  occasion  for 
them,  and  he  added  some  of  his  own.  At  the  session 
of  Congress  during  Mr.  Clay's  compromise  efforts,  Mr. 
B.,  perceiving  that  his  time  had  come,  committed  these 
papers  to  Hon.  Amos  Kendall,  who,  out  of  them  and 
Judge  Marshall's  papers,  forged  the  book  called  Mar- 
shall's Life  of  Washington.  In  consequence  of  this 
publication.  Col.  Benton  was  elected  president  of  the 
United  States,  and  Gen.  Cass,  amid  much  noise  and 
confusion^  migrated  to  California  !  This,  if  not  exactly 
like  the  Hegelian  hypotheses  of  Scripture  history,  is 
just  as  good  and  just  as  true  as  the  most  of  them. 

(3)    HYPOTHESIS  OF  GFROERER. 

Aug.  Gfroerer  is  a  countryman  of  Strauss,  and  a  wri- 
ter of  reputation.  His  church  history  especially  (pub- 
lished in  1841-45)  is  spoken  of  by  competent  judges 


SUBSTITUTES     FOR     THE     GOSPEL     HIST.       279 

as  a  work  of  great  merit.  He  began  (as  lie  says)  to 
meditate  his  theories  earlier  than  Strauss,  but  they  are 
no  better,  and  if  possible,  in  some  respects  even  worse. 
The  Gospel  of  John  he  considers  genuine,  but  the 
other  three,  spurious  and  mythical.  A  few  miracles, 
such  as  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  and  the  sick 
man  of  Bethesda,  he  admits,  and  does  not  sympathize 
with  Strauss  in  his  rejection  of  all  miraculous  narratives. 
The  three  synoptical  Gospels  (Matthew,  Mark  and 
Luke),  according  to  him,  owe  their  origin  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  writings  of  Philo  and  other  Jews ;  and 
many  ideas  in  them  are  derived  directly  from  the  Tal- 
mud, the  Fourth  Book  of  Esdras,  the  Book  of  Enoch, 
and  other  apocryphal  writings.  (The  thing  counter- 
feited owes  its  existence  to  the  counterfeit.)  He  is  at 
much  pains  to  prove  the  antiquity  of  these  apocryphal 
and  Talmudic  writings,  to  make  them,  if  possible,  seem 
older  than  the  Gospels,  but  with  very  indifferent  suc- 
cess. Even  granting  him  the  antiquity  he  claims,  the 
resemblances  on  which  here  lies  for  the  support  of  his 
theory  are  marvelously  unlike,  as  if  one  should  derive 
the  wigs  of  the  English  bishops  and  judges  from  the 
head-dress  of  the  Feejee  islanders. 

To  cite  a  few  examples :  According  to  ^.^e  j  erusalem 
Talmud,  one  day  when  Rabbi  Eliezer  and  Rabbi  Jona- 
than were  riding  together,  the  former  began  to  dis- 
course, when  the  latter  hastily  dismounted  from  his 
ass,  and  said  :  "  It  is  not  reasonable  that  I  should  bear 
the  honor  of  my  Creator,  and  thereby  ride  on  an  ass." 
They  both  sat  down  under  a  tree,  and  there  fell  fire 
from  heaven  and  surrounded  them  (as  a  reward  of 
their  humility).     From  this  and  other  similar  passages, 


280  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Gfroerer  concludes  that  in  the  time  of  Christ  the  Jews 
held  fire  to  be  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  revela- 
tions from  God.  Hence  arose  the  tradition  that  John 
Baptist  had  declared  that  Jesus  should  baptize  with 
fire !  In  the  same  Talmud  it  is  related  that  Deuteron- 
omy came  to  God  and  said :  "0  Lord,  thou  hast  writ- 
ten down  thy  law  in  me ;  "  and  then  complained  that 
Solomon,  when  he  took  to  himself  many  wives,  took 
away  the  jod  or  y  out  of  the  word  nsliym^  Deut.  xvii. 
17.  Then  God  answered  Deuteronomy  and  said :  "Sol- 
omon and  a  thousand  like  him  shall  perish ;  but  not  a 
vowel  shall  perish  from  thee."  Hence  arose  the  tra- 
dition that  Jesus  had  said,  that  not  one  jot  or  one  tittle 
of  the  law  should  fail.  The  Targum  of  Jonathan,  in 
Zech.  xiv.  21,  translates  the  word  Canaanite  by  mer- 
chant ^  hence  the  tradition  that  Christ  drove  the 
money-changers  out  of  the  temple!  These  deriva- 
tions certainly  exceed  Knickerbocker's  etymology  of 
the  word  mango  from  the  name  Jeremiah  King ;  for  in 
this  case  the  steps  are  quite  obvious,  thus :  Jeremiah 
King^  Jerry  King^  Jerkin^  Cucumber^  Mango. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  Gfroerer  thinks  is  of 
Rabbinic  origin.  The  text,  Zech,  xiv.  4,  the  predicted 
disruption  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  is  explained  of  the 
Messiah  and  his  sister  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  are  both, 
according  to  the  Rabbins,  ninety-six  miles  high  and 
twenty-four  miles  wide.  Hence  comes  the  whole  Chris- 
tian doctrine  of  the  Trinity !  0,  Gfroerer,  thou  art 
beside  thyself ;  much  learning  hath  made  thee  mad. 

Ebrard,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  work,  with  great 
significancy  certainly,  if  not  with  scrupulous  delicacy, 
illustrates  the  probability  of  Gfroerer's  hypothesis  of 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      281 

the  origin  of  the  Gospels,  by  the  following  figure :  A 
company  of  'leprous  beggars  wash  themselves  in  a 
river,  and  from  this  river  a  beautiful  young  man  is  seen 
to  emerge ;  the  inference  is  certain  that  this  young 
man  was  made  from  the  impurities  which  the  beggars 
had  washed  off.  And  what  in  this  case  is  the  more 
remarkable,  the  young  man  came  to  the  shore  before 
the  beggars  had  been  in  the  water  at  all ! 

(4)  HYPOTHESIS  OF  BRUNO  BAUER. 

Bruno  Bauer  is  a  younger  man  than  Strauss,  and  he 
may  well  be  regarded  as  the  extreme  extremity  of  the 
extreme  left  wing  of  Hegelianism.  In  him  self-deifi- 
cation and  the  annihilation  of  all  objective  truth  have 
reached  their  culminating  point.  No  subtilty  or  re- 
finement or  locomotive  force  of  Hegelianism  can  ever 
go  beyond  Bruno  Bauer.  His  thoughts  are  so  misty, 
and  his  expressions  so  bombastic  and  overstrained, 
that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  get  his  meaning,  and 
still  more  difficult  to  give  a  translation  of  it  in  another 
language ;  for  like  very  tenuous  gasses,  it  all  seems  to 
evaporate  as  soon  as.  it  meets  the  air.  It  is,  however, 
sufficiently  plain  that  Bruno  has  a  very  high  opinion 
of  himself,  a  very  low  opinion  of  all  theologians,  and 
of  God  no  opinion  at  all.  At  the  very  outset  he  anni- 
hilates all  historical  truth.  There  was  indeed  a  Jesus, 
and  there  was  a  community  in  the  Jewish  nation  which 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Christian  church ;  and  this 
is  nearly  the  whole  of  the  historical  basis  which  he  is 
disposed  to  acknowledge.  There  were  no  Messianic 
prophecies  or  expectations  among  the  Jews,  there  was 
no  baptism  of  Jesus,  there  were  no  discourses,  no  mir- 


282  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

acles,  not  anything  to  give  an  objective  foundation  to 
the  historical  narratives  in  the  Gospels.  These  narra- 
tives are  not  records  of  facts  which  once  actually  oc- 
curred ;  but  they  are  the  spontaneous  efflorescence  of 
the  innermost  religious  consciousness  of  the  age.  The 
writers  did  not  even  profess  to  themselves  to  record 
facts,  nor  did  they  pretend  to  make  other  people  think 
they  were  recording  facts.  How  it  is  that  men  could 
write  long  narratives  without  thinking  they  were  facts 
and  without  intending  to  write  fiction,  Bauer  himself 
explains  in  a  way  of  his  own.  We  will  translate  his 
language  as  well  as  we  are  able,  and  leave  the  reader 
to  guess  his  meaning.  Says  Bauer :  "  The  religious 
spirit  is  that  disruption  of  the  self-consciousness,  in 
which  the  essential  definiteness  of  the  same  steps  over 
against  the  consciousness  as  a  power  separate  from  it. 
Before  this  power  the  self-consciousness  must  naturally 
lose  itself;  for  it  has  therein  cast  out  its  own  contents 
out  of  itself,  and  so  far  as  it  can  still  sustain  itself  as  a 
Me  for  itself,  it  feels  itself  before  that  power  as  nothing, 
so  as  it  must  regard  the  same  as  the  nothing  of  its  own 
self  Nevertheless  the  Me  as  self-consciousness  can- 
not entirely  lose  itself — in  its  subjective,  secular 
thought  filled  with  moral  ends  and  its  willing,  it  still 
maintains  its  freedom ;  and  into  this  freedom  also  the 
religious  consciousness  and  the  historical  development 
of  the  same  are  involuntarily  drawn.  Both  the  reli- 
gious consciousness  and  free  self-consciousness  thus 
come  into  contact,  to  interpenctration,  without  which 
the  first  could  be  neither  individually  living  nor  capa- 
ble of  a  historical  growth.  But  so  as  this  livingness 
and  growth,  after  their  first  contact,  become  the  sub- 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      283 

ject  of  religious  reflection,  they  are  again  torn  from 
the  self-consciousness,  they  step  before  the  conscious- 
ness as  the  deed  of  another,  and  now  also,  necessarily, 
the  interposition  which  had  placed  them  in  the  self- 
consciousness  as  its  own  movement,  becomes  a  ma- 
chinery whose  bands  are  guided  in  another  world." 
{Kritik  der  evang.  Geschichle  der  Synoptiker^  i.  25  f ) 
Such  is  his  explanation  of  this  wonderful  phenomenon, 
and  doubtless  it  is  to  himself  very  profound  and  satis- 
factory. 

These  principles  being  settled,  the  origin  of  the  first 
three  Gospels,  according  to  Bruno,  was  as  follows: 
Somebody  wrote  the  book  which  bears  the  name  of 
Mark,  and  others  very  strangely  mistook  it  for  a  verit- 
able biography  of  Jesus.  Another  afterwards  took 
this  book  in  hand,  and  without  thinking  it  was  not  his- 
torical, changed  and  modified  it  according  to  his  own 
ideas,  and  thus  we  have  the  Gospel  of  Luke.  Now 
comes  a  third,  and  compares  these  two  writings  to- 
gether, seeks  to  reconcile  the  contradictions  he  finds, 
compiles  and  combines,  reading  first  a  verse  in  one 
and  then  a  verse  in  the  other.  In  this  writer's  reflec- 
tion, subjectivity  predominates ;  yet  he,  as  well  as  his 
predecessors,  is  all  unaware,  that  what  he  writes  is 
simply  the  product  of  his  own  imagination,  and  not 
real,  objective  history.  Here  we  have  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew. 

This  Bruno  is  very  confident,  and  feels  great  con- 
tempt for  theologians.  He  says :  "  See  how  they 
(the  theologians)  stand  there ;  how  the  theological 
hate  glows  from  their  eyes.  Ha !  would  you  grasp 
the  thunder  ?     Miserable  mortals  !  well  that  it  was  not 


284  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

given  to  you !  "  "  Now,  after  the  above  exploitations^ 
ask  them  whether  they  really  think  their  Jesuitism 
can  hold  on  ;  whether  they  believe  that  their  decep- 
tion and  lying  will  endure  forever  ?  When  the  time 
comes  that  their  falsehood  must  be  a  conscious  and  de- 
termined lie,  then  their  judgment  is  no  longer  far  off." 

HYPOTHESIS    OF    RENAN. 

The  Vie  de  Jesus  (Life  of  Jesus)  by  Ernest  Renan, 
published  in  Paris  some  two  years  since,  has  become 
well  known.  It  differs  from  the  German  works  to 
which  we  have  been  attending  as  a  Frenchman  gener- 
ally differs  from  a  German.  It  is  lively  and  popular 
in  style  but  pre-eminently  superficial  and  untrustwor- 
thy. It  is  not  nearly  so  much  a  biography  of  Jesus  as 
Daniel  Defoe's  History  of  the  Devil  is  a  biography  of 
Satan. 

Before  expressing  my  own  opinion  of  the  work  of 
Renan,  I  will  give  an  estimate  of  it  by  a  learned  Prus- 
sian Jew,  Dr.  Philippson  of  Magdeburg.  Dr.  Philippson 
as  a  Jewish  Rabbi  is  as  much  averse  to  admitting  the  his- 
torical credibility  of  the  Gospels  as  Renan  himself,  but 
his  solid  Teutonic  erudition  is  repelled  and  disgusted  by 
the  flippant  shallowness  of  the  Frenchman.  He  says : 
"  The  author  who  after  Strauss  has  gained  the  greatest 
renown  in  literature  of  this  kind  is  the  Frenchman 
Ernest  Renan  (Vie  de  Jesus,  cinquieme  edition,  Paris, 
1863),  but  for  our  subject  he  is  of  no  value.  Renan 
is  no  critic;  he  is  merely  a  rationalist." 

"  With  the  aid  of  lively  colors,  or  psychological  rai- 
sonnements^  he,  as  a  master  of  his  language,  produces 
a  very  readable  biography.     It  was  natural,  therefore, 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST,      285 

that  his  work  found  many  readers,  especially  in  France, 
and  was  met  with  violent  refutation  on  the  part  of  the 
clergy ;  but  it  could  gain  no  great  importance  in  the 
domain  of  science  and  historical  criticism,  for  after  all, 
much  of  the  work  rests  upon  arbitrary  assumptions — 
very  little  upon  critical  principles  and  an  examination 
corresponding  with  them." 

"He  often  contradicts  himself  most  glaringly,  even 
now  and  then  on  the  same  page  of  his  book." 

"  Meeting  with  such  a  confusion  of  ideas  and  such 
a  misconception  of  all  history,  we  may  dispense  with 
all  further  examination.  We  said  so  much  lest  we 
should  be  charged  with  an  omission."* 

A  very  brief  exposition  of  the  style  of  thought  and 
the  general  tone  of  Kenan's  celebrated  work,  will,  I 
think,  satisfy  every  intelligent  reader  that  the  truly 
learned  Jewish  Rabbi  whom  we  have  just  quoted,  has 
given  a  fair  and  accurate  estimate  of  his  real  merits  as 
a  writer  on  the  Gospels. 

In  making  out  the  following  analysis  we  avail  our- 
selves of  an  able  article  in  the  London  Reader. 

His  Family  and  Native  Place.  He  came  from  the 
ranks  of  the  people.  His  father  Joseph,  and  his  mother 
Mary,  were  persons  of  middling  condition,  belonging 
to  the  class  of  artizans  living  by  their  labor,  in  that 
state,  common  in  the  East,  which  is  neither  one  of  easy 
circumstances  nor  of  misery.  .  .  .  If  we  set  aside 
something  of  the  sordid  and  the  repulsive  which  Islam- 
ism  everywhere  carries  with  it,  the  town  of  Nazareth, 
in  the  time  of  Jesus,  did  not  differ  much,  perhaps,  from 

*Dr.  Philippson  on  the  "Crucifixion  and  the  Jews,"  translated  from 
the  Allgemeine  Zeitung  des  Judenthums,  by  M.  Mayer. 


286  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

what  it  is  at  present.  The  streets  where  he  played  as  a 
child,  we  see  them  still  in  those  stony  paths  or  those 
small  crossways  which  separate  the  huts.  The  house 
of  Joseph  much  resembled,  doubtless,  those  poor  shops, 
lighted  by  the  door,  serving  at  once  as  working-booth, 
kitchen,  and  bed-chamber,  and  having  for  their  furni- 
ture a  mat,  some  cushions  on  the  ground,  one  or  two 
clay  vessels,  and  a  painted  chest.  The  family,  proceed- 
ing from  one  or  more  marriages,  was  numerous  enough. 
Jesus  had  brothers  and  sisters,  of  whom  he  seems  to 
have  been  the  eldest.  All  the  others  remain  obscure ; 
for  it  appears  that  the  four  persons  represented  as  his 
brothers,  and  of  whom  at  least  one,  James,  became  of 
great  importance  in  the  first  years  of  the  development 
of  Christianity,  were  his  cousins-german.  Mary,  in 
fact,  had  a  sister,  named  also  Mary,  who  married  a  cer- 
tain Alpheus  or  Cleophas  (these  two  names  seem  to 
designate  one  person),  and  was  the  mother  of  several 
sons,  who  played  a  considerable  part  among  the  first 
disciples  of  Jesus.  These  cousins-german,  who  ad- 
hered to  the  young  master  while  his  true  brothers  op- 
posed him,  took  the  name  of  "brothers  of  the  Lord." 
The  true  brothers  of  Jesus  were,  as  well  as  their 
mother,  of  no  importance  till  after  his  death.  .  .  . 
His  sisters  married  at  Nazareth,  and  there  he  passed 
the  years  of  his  first  youth.  Nazareth  was  a  small 
town  .  .  .  the  population  at  present  is  from  three 
to  four  thousand  souls;  and  it  can  not  have  changed 
much.  The  cold  there  is  keen  in  winter,  and  the  cli- 
mate very  healthy.  The  town,  as  at  that  epoch  all 
the  smaller  Jewish  towns,  was  a  collection  of  huts  built 
without  style,  and  must  have  presented  the  dry  and 


SUBSTITUTES   FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      287 

poor  aspect  which  villages  in  the  Semitic  countries 
still  offer.  The  houses,  as  far  as  appears,  did  not  differ 
much  from  those  cubes  of  stone,  without  elegance 
either  exterior  or  interior,  which  now  cover  the  richer 
parts  of  the  Libanus,  and  which,  mingled  with  vines 
and  fig-trees,  have  still  a  very  agreeable  look.  The 
surrounding  country,  on  the  other  hand,  is  charming ; 
and  no  spot  in  the  world  was  so  fitted  for  dreams  of 
absolute  happiness.  Even  in  our  days  Nazareth  is  still 
a  delicious  place  of  residence — the  only  spot,  perhaps, 
in  Palestine,  where  the  soul  feels  itself  somewhat  re- 
lieved from  the  burden  which  oppresses  it  in  the  midst 
of  desolation  unequalled.  The  people  are  amiable 
and  cheerful ;  the  gardens  are  fresh  and  green,  An- 
toninus Martyr,  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  drew 
an  enchanting  picture  of  the  fertility  of  the  country 
round,  comparing  it  to  Paradise.  Some  valleys  on  the 
western  side  fully  justify  his  description.  The  foun- 
tain, round  which  were  gathered  the  life  and  gayety 
of  the  small  town,  is  destroyed ;  its  choked-up  chan- 
nels give  now  only  turbid  water.  But  the  beauty  of 
the  women  who  meet  there  in  the  evening — that 
beauty  which  was  already  marked  in  the  sixth  century, 
and  in  which  people  saw  a  gift  of  the  Virgin  Mary — 
is  preserved  in  a  striking  manner.  It  is  the  Syrian 
type,  in  all  its  grace,  so  full  of  languor.  Doubtless, 
Mary  was  there  almost  every  day,  and  took  her  place, 
the  urn  on  her  shoulder,  in  the  string  of  her  fellow- 
countrywomen  who  have  left  no  name.  Antoninus 
Martyr  remarked  that  the  Jewish  women,  elsewhere 
disdainful  to  Christians,  are  here  full  of  affability. 
Even  to  the  present  day  religious  animosities  are  less 
keen  at  Nazareth  than  elsewhere. 


288  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

His  Youth  and  Education.  He  learned  to  rend  and 
write,  doubtless  according  to  the  method  of  the  East, 
which  consists  in  placing  in  the  child's  hands  a  book, 
which  he  repeats  in  cadence  with  his  little  comrades 
until  he  knows  it  by  heart.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  he  knew  well  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  in  their 
original  tongue.  His  biographers  make  him  quote 
them  from  the  Aramean  translations.  .  .  .  The 
school-master  in  the  small  Jewish  towns  was  the  Haz- 
an  or  reader  in  the  synagogues.  Jesus  frequented 
little  the  higher  schools  of  the  scribes,  or  Soferim 
(Nazareth,  perhaps,  had  not  one  of  them)  ;  and  he  had 
none  of  those  titles  which  confer,  in  vulgar  eyes,  the 
rights  of  knowledge.  It  would,  nevertheless,  be  a  great 
error  to  imagine  that  Jesus  was  what  we  should  now 
call  uneducated.  .  .  It  is  not  probable  that  he  had 
learned  Greek.  That  language  was  little  spread  in 
Judea  beyond  the  classes  which  shared  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  towns  inhabited  by  pagans,  like  CesarEea. 
The  idiom  proper  to  Jesus  was  the  Syriac  dialect, 
mixed  with  Hebrew,  then  spoken  in  Palestine.  .  .  . 
Neither  directly  nor  indirectly  did  any  element  of  Hel- 
lenic culture  reach  Jesus.  He  knew  nothing  beyond 
Judaism ;  his  mind  preserved  that  frank  naivete  which 
an  extended  and  varied  culture  always  enfeebles. 
Nay,  within  the  bosom  of  Judaism,  he  remained  a 
stranger  to  many  efforts  that  had  been  made,  often 
parallel  to  his  own.  On  the  one  hand,  the  asceticism 
of  the  Essenians  or  Therapeutae,  on  the  other,  the  fine 
essays  of  religious  philosophy  made  by  the  Jewish 
school  of  Alexandria,  and  of  which  his  contemporary 
Philo  was  the  ingenious  interpreter,  were  unknown  to 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      289 

him.  .  .  .  Happily  for  him  he  knew  nothing  of 
the  strange  scholasticism  which  was  being  taught  at  Je- 
rusalem, and  which  was  ultimately  to  form  the  Talmud. 
If  some  Pharisees  had  already  brought  it  into  Galilee, 
he  did  not  attend  to  them ;  and,  when,  afterwards,  he 
came  in  contact  with  this  silly  casuistry,  it  inspired 
him  only  with  disgust.  One  may  suppose,  neverthe- 
less, that  the  principles  of  Hillel  were  not  unknown  to 
him.  Hillel,  fifty  years  before  him,  had  uttered  apho- 
risms which  had  much  analogy  to  his  own.  By  his 
poverty  humbly  endured,  by  the  sweetness  of  his  char- 
acter, by  his  opposition  to  hypocrites  and  to  priests, 
Hillel  was  the  true  master  of  Jesus,  if  it  is  lawful  to 
talk  of  a  master  when  one  is  concerned  with  so  high 
an  originality.  .  .  .  The  reading  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament made  far  more  impression  upon  him.  .  .  . 
The  law  appears  not  to  have  had  much  charm  for  him. 
He  believed  that  a  better  could  be  made.  But  the 
religious  poetry  of  the  Psalms  was  in  wonderful  accord 
with  his  lyrical  soul ;  they  remained,  all  his  life,  his 
food  and  sustenance.  The  prophets,  in  particular 
Isaiah  and  his  continuator  of  the  time  of  the  Captivity, 
were,  with  their  brilliant  dreams  of  the  future,  their  im- 
petuous eloquence,  their  invectives  mingled  with  en- 
chanting pictures,  his  true  masters.  He  read,  doubtless, 
also,  some  of  the  apocryphal  works — that  is  to  say,  of 
those  writings  sufficiently  modern,  the  authors  of  which, 
in  order  to  give  themselves  an  authority  more  willingly 
allowed  to  the  very  ancient  writings,  sheltered  them- 
selves under  the  names  of  prophets  and  patriarchs. 
One  of  th2se  books  above  all,  struck  him;  it  was  the 
Book  of  Daniel.  .  .  .  Betimes  his  character  in 
19 


290  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

part  revealed  itself.  The  legends  delight  in  showing 
him,  from  his  childhood,  revolting  against  paternal 
authority,  and  walking  from  common  paths  in  order 
to  follow  his  calling.  It  is  certain,  at  least,  that  the 
relations  of  kindred  were  to  him  of  small  concern. 
His  family  do  not  seem  to  have  liked  him ;  and,  at 
times,  he  is  found  hard  towards  them.  Jesus,  like  all 
men  exclusively  preoccupied  by  an  idea,  came  to  regard 
the  ties  of  blood  as  of  small  account. 

Galilee  and  Southern  Judea.  Every  people  called 
to  high  destinies  ought  to  be  a  small  complete  world, 
enclosing  opposed  poles  within  its  bosom.  Greece 
had,  at  a  few  leagues  from  each  other,  Sparta  and 
Athens,  two  antipodes  to  a  superficial  observer,  but  in 
reality  rival  sisters,  necessary  the  one  to  the  other.  It 
was  the  same  with  Judea.  Less  brilliant  in  one  sense 
than  the  development  of  Jerusalem,  that  of  the  north 
was  on  the  whole  much  more  fruitful ;  the  most  living 
performances  of  the  Jewish  people  always  came  thence. 
A  complete  absence  of  the  sentiment  of  nature,  bor- 
dering somewhat  on  the  dry,  the  narrow,  the  sullen, 
struck  all  works  of  purely  Hierosolymite  origin  with  a 
character  grandiose  indeed,  but  sad  and  repulsive. 
With  her  solemn  doctors,  her  insipid  canonists,  her 
hypocritical  and  atrabilious  devotees,  Jerusalem  could 
not  have  conquered  humanity.  .  .  .  The  north 
alone  produced  Christianity;  Jerusalem,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  the  true  native  country  of  the  obstinate  Juda- 
ism which,  founded  by  the  Pharisees  and  fixed  by  the 
Talmud,  has  traversed  the  Middle  Ages  and  reached 
Qur  own  days.  A  ravishing  natural  scenery  contri- 
buted to  form  this  spirit,  much  less  austere,  less  fiercely 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      291 

monotheistic,  if  I  may  so  say,  which  impressed  upon 
all  the  dreams  of  the  Galilean  mind  something  idyllic 
and  charming.  The  saddest  country  in  the  world  is, 
perhaps,  the  region  near  Jerusalem.  Galilee,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  a  land  very  green,  very  shady,  smiling 
all  over — the  true  land  of  the  Song  of  Songs  and  of 
the  chants  of  the  Well-beloved.  During  the  two 
months  of  March  and  April  the  champaign  is  a  dense 
thicket  of  flowers  of  incomparable  freshness  and  col- 
ors. The  animals  there  are  small,  but  of  extreme  do- 
cility. .  .  .  In  no  country  in  the  world  do  the 
mountains  lay  themselves  out  with  more  harmony  or 
inspire  higher  thoughts.  Jesus  seems  to  have  particu- 
larly loved  them.  The  most  important  acts  of  his 
divine  career  took  place  on  the  mountains ;  there  was 
he  best  inspired ;  it  was  there  that  he  held  secret  com- 
munion with  the  ancient  prophets,  and  that  he  showed 
himself  to  the  eyes  of  disciples  already  transfigured. 
.  .  .  Jesus  lived  and  grew  up  in  this  intoxicating 
medium ;  but,  from  his  infancy,  he  made  almost  annu- 
ally the  journey  to  Jerusalem  for  the  festival. 

The  Tlieologij  of  Jesus.  A  high  notion  of  Deity, 
which  he  did  not  owe  to  Judaism,  and  which  seems  to 
have  been  in  all  its  parts  the  creation  of  his  own  great 
soul,  was,  in  a  manner,  the  principle  of  his  whole 
power.  .  .  .  The  highest  consciousness  of  Deity 
that  has  ever  existed  in  the  breast  of  humanity  was 
that  of  Jesus.  One  sees,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Jesus, 
starting  from  such  a  disposition  of  soul  as  his,  never 
could  have  been  a  speculative  philosopher  like  Cakya- 
Mouni.  Nothing  is  farther  from  scholastic  theology 
than    the    Gospel.     The   speculations   of    the    Greek 


292  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

fathers  on  tlie  divine  essence  came  from  quite  another 
spirit.  God  conceived  immediately  as  Father — this  is 
all  the  theology  of  Jesus.  .  .  .  It  is  probable  that, 
from  the  first,  he  regarded  himself  as  being  to  God  in 
the  relation  of  a  son  to  his  father.  Here  is  his  great 
act  of  originality ;  in  this  he  is  not  like  one  of  his  race. 
Neither  Jew  nor  Mussulman  has  understood  this  deli- 
cious theology  of  love.  The  God  of  Jesus  is  not  that 
fatal  master  who  kills  us  when  he  pleases,  condemns 
us  when  he  pleases,  saves  us  when  he  pleases.  The 
God  of  Jesus  is  Our  Father. 

Matured  Notion  of  Ms  Mission.  This  name  "  King- 
dom of  God,"  or  "Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  was  the  fa- 
vorite term  with  Jesus  for  expressing  the  revolution 
which  he  brought  into  the  world.  Like  almost  all  the 
other  Messianic  terms,  it  came  from  the  Book  of  Dan- 
iel. According  to  the  author  of  that  extraordinary 
book,  to  the  four  profane  kingdoms,  destined  to  sink, 
a  fifth  empire  was  to  succeed,  which  should  be  that  of 
the  Saints,  and  should  endure  forever.  This  kingdom 
of  God  upon  the  earth  had  naturally  received  diverse 
interpretations.  .  .  .  All  that  Jesus  owed  to  John 
was,  to  some  extent,  lessons  in  preaching  and  popular 
action.  From  that  moment,  in  fact,  he  preached  with 
much  more  force,  and  imposed  himself  on  the  crowd 
with  authority.  It  seems,  also,  that  his  sojourn  near 
John,  less  by  the  action  of  the  Baptist  than  by  the 
natural  progress  of  his  own  thoughts,  greatly  matured 
his  ideas  respecting  the  "Kingdom  of  Heaven."  His 
watchword  thenceforward  was  "Good  tidings  " — news 
that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand.  Jesus  will 
no  longer  be  merely  a  delightful  moralist,  aspiring  to 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      293 

enclose  sublime  lessons  in  some  loving  and  brief  aphor- 
ism ;  he  is  the  transcendant  revolutionist  who  strives 
to  renew  the  world  from  its  foundations,  and  to  found 
on  earth  the  ideal  which  he  has  conceived.  To  "  wait 
for  the  Kingdom  of  God "  will  be  the  synonym  for 
being  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  .  .  .  Who  is  to  estab- 
lish this  Kingdom  of  God  ?  Let  us  remember  that  the 
first  thought  of  Jesus — a  thought  so  profound  with 
him  that  it  had  probably  no  origin,  but  belonged  to 
the  very  roots  of  his  being — was  that  he  was  the  Son 
of  God,  the  intimate  of  his  Father,  the  doer  of  his 
will ;  and  then  the  answer  of  Jesus  to  such  a  question 
will  not  be  doubtful.  The  conviction  that  he  would 
cause  God  to  reign  possessed  itself  of  his  spirit  in  a 
manner  quite  absolute.  He  considered  himself  as  the 
universal  reformer.  Heaven,  earth,  all  nature,  mad- 
ness, malady,  and  death  are  but  his  instruments.  In 
his  access  of  heroic  will  he  believes  himself  all-power- 
ful. If  the  Earth  is  not  ready  for  this  last  transforma- 
tion, the  Earth  will  be  burnt,  purified  by  fire  and  the 
breath  of  God.  A  new  Heaven  will  be  created,  and 
the  whole  world  will  be  peopled  with  the  angels  of 
God.  A  radical  revolution,  embracing  even  physical, 
nature  itself — such  was  the  fundamental  thought  of' 
Jesus. 

Inadequate  Modern  Appreciation  of  great  Characters 
and  Movements.  Our  principles  of  positive  science  are 
hurt  by  the  dreams  which  the  plan  of  Jesus  embraced. 
We  know  the  history  of  the  earth ;  cosmical  revolu- 
tions of  the  kind  which  Jesus  expected  are  produced 
only  by  geological  or  astronomical  causes,  the  connec- 
tion of  which   with  moral  matters   has  never    been 


294  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

ascertained.  But,  to  be  just  to  great  creative  minds, 
it  is  necessary  not  to  stop  at  the  prejudices  they  may 
have  shared  with  their  time.  .  .  .  The  deism  of 
the  eighteenth  century  and  a  certain  kind  of  protest- 
antism have  accustomed  us  to  consider  the  founder  of 
the  Christian  faith  only  as  a  great  moralist,  a  benefac- 
tor of  humanity.  We  see  in  the  Gospel  only  good 
maxims;  we  throw  a  prudent  veil  over  the  strange 
intellectual  state  in  which  it  was  born.  There  are 
people,  also,  who  regret  that  the  French  Revolution 
went  more  than  once  out  of  the  track  of  principles, 
and  was  not  the  work  of  wise  and  moderate  men. 
Let  us  not  impose  our  small  plans  of  middle-class  good 
sense  upon  those  extraordinary  movements  so  greatly 
beyond  our  stature.  Let  us  continue  to  admire  the 
"  morality  of  the  Gospel " — let  us  suppress  in  our  reli- 
gious instructions  the  chimera  that  was  the  soul  of  it ; 
but  let  us  not  believe  that,  by  simple  ideas  of  good- 
ness or  individual  morality,  the  world  is  ever  stirred. 
The  idea  of  Jesus  was  much  more  profound ;  it  was 
the  most  revolutionary  idea  that  was  ever  conceived 
in  .1  human  brain  ;  it  must  be  taken  in  its  totality,  and 
not  with  those  timid  suppressions  which  retrench  from 
it  precisely  that  which  made  it  effective  for  the  regen- 
eration of  humanity.  Fundamentally,  the  ideal  is 
always  a  Utopia.  When  we  wish  at  present  to  repre- 
sent the  Christ  of  modern  consciousness,  the  consoler, 
the  judge  of  these  new  times,  what  do  we  do  ?  That 
which  Jesus  himself  did  1830  years  ago.  We  suppose 
the  conditions  of  the  real  world  altogether  other  than 
they  are ;  we  represent  a  moral  deliverer  breaking, 
without  arms,  the  chains  of  the  negro,  ameliorating 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      295 

the  condition  of  the  poor,  freeing  the  oppressed  nations. 
We  forget  that  this  supposes  a  world  turned  upside- 
down,  the  climate  of  Virginia  and  that  of  Congo  modi- 
fied, the  blood  and  race  of  millions  of  men  changed, 
our  social  complications  brought  back  to  a  chimerical 
simplicity,  the  political  stratifications  of  Europe  tilted 
out  of  their  order." 

What  is  all  this  but  the  sheerest  and  most  extrava- 
gant moonshine  ?  What  shadow  or  even  pretence  of  a 
shadow  of  historical  testimony  or  historical  evidence 
of  any  kind  does  Renan  give  us?  Not  a  particle  of 
evidence  of  any  kind,  except  the  vagaries  of  his  own 
brain,  does  he  pretend  to  give.  Strauss,  Renan,  and 
all  the  rest  simply  start  with  the  principle  that  a  mira- 
cle is  impossible,  and  then  any  hypothesis  to  ac- 
count for  the  existence  of  Christianity,  however  wild, 
absurd  and  self-contradictory  it  may  be,  is  more  rational 
than  the  belief  in  its  miraculous  origin  so  simply  and 
so  clearly  stated  in  our  sacred  books. 

Compare  the  following  passages:  (1)  "  So  long  as 
the  Gospels  are  regarded  as  historical  sources,  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  so  long  a  historical  view  of 
the  life  of  Jesus  is  impossible."  (^Strauss  p.  40.)  For 
''  historical  enquiry  refuses  absolutely  to  recognize  any- 
where any  such  thing  "  as  a  miracle  (p.  146).  (2)  "  In 
the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  nothing  supernatural 
happened ;  .  .  .  for  thus  much  we  can  soon  dis- 
cover about  our  Gospels,  that  neither  all  nor  any  of 
them  display  such  historical  trustworthiness  as  to  com- 
pel our  reason  to  the  acceptance  of  a  miracle  "  (p.  15). 

Similarly  M.  Renan  :  (1)  "  The  first  twelve  chap- 
ters of  Acts  are  a  tissue  of  miracles.     Now,  an  absolute 


296  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

rule  of  criticism  is,  to  allow  no  place  in  historical  nar- 
ration to  miracles  "  (p.  43).  (2)  "  Show  me  a  speci- 
men of  these  things,  and  I  will  admit  them.  .  .  . 
The  onus  prohandi  in  science  rests  with  those  who 
allege  a  fact."  (p.  45.) 

HYPOTHESIS   OF    SCHENKEL. 

Prof  Daniel  Schenkel  is  probably  the  highest  au- 
thority among  the  German  rationalists  of  the  present 
generation ;  and  his  is  the  most  recent  effort  at  con- 
structing the  life  of  Jesus  out  of  one's  own  inward  con- 
sciousness, without  reference  or  rather  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  historical  testimony  on  the  subject.* 

From  his  own  inward  consciousness  and  without  any 
external  testimony,  he  thinks  himself  competent  to 
correct  the  Gospel  narrative  as  follows:  "Jesus  was 
born  at  Nazareth,  not  at  Bethlehem.  He  was  not  in 
the  wilderness  all  the  time  of  the  temptation,  nor  did 
he  abstain  from  food.  He  made  no  journey  to  Jerusa- 
lem but  the  last,  which  terminated  in  his  death.  John 
the  Baptist  did  not  recognize  Jesus'  Messiahship,  nor 
testify  of  him,  nor  urge  any  disciples  to  follow  him. 
Jesus  could  not  possibly  have  said  that  not  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  the  Old  Testament  would  pass  away.  He 
could  not  have  referred  to  his  resurrection  before  his 
death,  for  he  was  not  raised,  and  if  he  had  been,  he 
could  not  have  known  it  beforehand.  "Of  a  suffering 
Messiah  the  Old  Testament  knows  nothing." 

*  The  cliar.octer  of  Jesus  portrayed.  A  Biblical  Essay  with  an 
Appendix.  By  Dr.  Daniel  Schenkel,  Professor  of  Theology,  Heidel- 
berg. Translated  from  the  third  German  edition,  with  introduction 
and  notes,  by  W.  11.  Furncss,  D.  D.     Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.       297 

Of  the  writers  of  the  four  Gospels  "  Mark  he  thinks 
the  most  accurate  of  all,  though  many  things  have 
been  acldecl  by  another  hand,  which  are  not  trustwor- 
thy. Matthew  was  written  by  a  Jewish  disciple,  and, 
as  it  attempts  to  prove  that  the  prophecies  of  a  Jewish 
Messiah  found  fulfiillment  in  Jesus,  much  of  it  must  be 
rejected.  Luke  adds  many  incidents  and  parables  to 
adapt  the  new  religion  to  the  Gentile  world,  and  these 
must  be  carefully  winnowed.  Little  reliance  can  be 
placed  on  John's  Gospel,  for  it  contradicts  the  histor- 
ical order,  by  making  Jesus  have  a  distinct  conception 
of  his  work  from  the  beginning.  This  accords,  indeed, 
with  Old  Testament  teaching,  and  with  the  plan  of 
God  as  revealed,  but  it  can  not  have  a  place  in  Dr. 
Schenkel's  historical  theory,  and  must  be  rejected." 

"  Now  one  naturally  imagines,  from  such  statements, 
that  Dr.  Schenkel  must  doubt  the  veracity  of  the  Gos- 
pel writers.  It  would  seem  as  if  there  were  but  two 
alternatives  in  the  case ;  either  they  told  the  simple 
truth,  which  they  claim  to  have  known,  and  to  whose 
veracity  they  bore  witness  by  suffering  and  death ;  or  else 
they  invented  the  whole  or  a  part  to  deceive  the  world. 
But  his  theory  is  strangely  elastic,  and  saves  their  credit 
while  it  denies  their  statements."     He  says : 

"  It  is  no  device  of  writers  aiming  to  establish  a  point, 
still  less,  as  from  a  low  historical  point  of  view  it  may 
be  thought,  is  it  falsehood  and  deceit  that  we  have 
here.  In  these  extraordinary  accounts  we  have  the 
unconscious  homage  of  a  religiously  inspired  imagina- 
tion paid  to  Jesus  by  disciples  and  friends."^' 

I  can  not  see  that  Dr.  Schenkel  has  improved  at  all 

*  Christian  "Watchman  and  Reflector. 


298  THE     BOOKS     OP     THE     BIBLE. 

upon  Strauss,  or  that  he  is  really  any  more  reliable 
than  Renan.  All  these  hypotheses  are  utterly  baseless, 
they  have  not  a  foot  to  stand  upon,  they  are  con- 
structed not  only  without  historical  testimony,  but  in 
direct  opposition  to  all  the  historical  testimony  we  ac- 
tually possess  on  the  subject.  They  are  simply  the 
outgrowth  of  the  fancy  and  the  imagination  of  the 
writers.  They  are  in  fact  the  Apocryphal  Gospels  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  in  every  respect  as  apoary- 
plial  as  those  compositions  of  the  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries  which  have  already  passed  under  review, 
only  adapted  to  the  faithlessness  of  this  generation  as 
those  were  to  the  superstitious  credulity  of  the  times 
in  which  they  originated. 

HYPOTHESIS  OF  F.   C.  BAUR. 

It  is  generally  admitted  by  these  theorizers  that 
there  was  no  intentional  deception  on  the  j^art  of  the 
writers  of  our  Gospels.  Though  there  is  very  little, 
if  any  historical  truth  in  their  compositions,  yet  their 
intentions  were  good ;  a  religious  imagination,  a  harm- 
less enthusiasm,  an  amiable  fanaticism  guided  their 
pens.  F.  C.  Baur,  the  founder  and  the  most  brilliant 
representative  of  the  famous  Tuebingen  school,  takes 
a  somewhat  different  view.  The  Gospels  were  orig- 
inally written  for  the  express  purpose  of  deception, 
for  the  ex})ress  purpose  of  sustaining  the  theology  of 
Paul  against  that  of  Peter,  or  the  theology  of  Peter 
against  that  of  Paul.  Of  course  there  is  no  historical 
testimony  to  that  effect,  he  does  not  even  pretend  to 
any ;  he  makes  his  conclusion  from  internal  evidence 
alone;  yet,  strange  to  say,  these  writings  have  been 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      299 

SO  modified  and  smoothed  over  since  their  original  pro- 
duction, that  all  traces  of  this  controversial  tendency 
have  pretty  much  disappeared  from  the  pages.  The 
following  statements  are  from  an  elaborate  article  in 
the  London  Quarterly  Review: 

"According  to  Baur,  each  of  the  Gospels  had  a  ten- 
dency— was  written  for  a  purpose.  There  was,  he 
alleges,  a  much  more  active  feud  between  two  oppo- 
site elements  in  the  early  church — between  the  E])ion- 
itish  or  Petrine  element  and  the  Pauline — than  would 
be  gathered  from  the  New  Testament  itself  This 
controversy  began  from  the  time  of  the  apostles  and 
did  not  end  until  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
It  was  a  contest  between  those  who  viewed  Christianity 
as  Judaism  and  the  Lord  as  the  Messiah,  and  those  who 
viewed  it  as  a  new  principle  by  which  both  Judaism 
and  heathenism  were  to  be  moulded  and  transformed 
into  a  new  system.  Of  the  former  opinion  Peter  was 
the  chief  champion;  the  supersedure  of  temple  and 
law  in  favor  of  Christianity,  an  all-embracing  system, 
was  the  work  of  Paul.  But  the  contest,  says  Baur, 
was  much  more  obstinate  and  lasting  than  we  should 
infer  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  life  of  Paul 
was  passed  in  the  struggle  for  recognition  as  one  of 
the  apostles,  for  perfect  equality  of  Jew  and  Gentile 
converts,  for  emancipation  from  the  law.  But  the  dis- 
pute continued  far  beyond  his  life,  and  all  the  early 
church  literature  is  to  be  interpreted  by  the  light  of 
this  dispute.  The  books  of  the  New  Testament  are 
either  party -writings  on  one  side  or  the  other,  or  else 
they  are  later  productions,  intended  to  conciliate  and 
conceal  this  difference,  and  to  unite  all  Christians  upon 


300  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

one  common  ground.  And  most  of  the  books  are  of 
this  hitter  class,  and  it  follows,  that  they  are  not  the 
genuine  productions  of  those  whose  names  they  bear. 
The  lateness  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel  is  inferred  from  the 
absence  of  controversial  matter  and  other  reasons. 
St.  Luke's  Gospel  had  originally  a  strong  Pauline  and 
anti-Jewish  tendency ;  but  in  the  later  edition  of  it, 
which  we  possess,  this  tendency  was  much  modified 
and  softened !  St.  Matthew  must  likewise  have  been 
modified,  the  original  Gospel  being  very  different  from 
that  which  we  now  possess,  more  decidedly  Judaic  in 
'tendency,'  whilst  the  Greek  Gospel  as  we  possess  it 
has  the  general  character  of  the  other  two  Gospels, 
one  of  conciliation  between  the  two  great  parties ! 

The  critical  power  that  can  discover  a  strong  Gen- 
tile prejudice  in  a  narrative,  after  some  one  has  gone 
over  it  with  the  express  purpose  of  taking  out  all  signs 
of  this,  does  not  belong  to  the  region  of  science  but 
of  second  vsight.  If  ever  there  were  books  free  from 
all  taint  of  prejudice,  from  the  stifling  heat  of  contro- 
versy, the  four  Gospels  are  these  books.  If  it  had 
been  reserved  for  this  century  to  disclose  a  hidden  pur- 
pose and  bias  in  the  writers,  the  grounds  on  which  it 
rests  should  surely  be  accessible  to  us  all.  We  can 
conceive  that  eyes  long  exercised  in  the  twilight  of 
antiquity  may  catch  forms  and  shades  that  escape  our 
own ;  but  eyes  that  read  not  only  what  is  there,  but 
what  would  have  been  there  if  it  had  not  been  taken 
out,  are  beyond  the  reach  even  of  imagination." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  give  any  specimens  of 
Schwegler,  Keim,  Volkmar,  and  other  critics  of  the 
Tuebingen  school.     Though  differing  somewhat  from 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      301 

the  Hegelians  already  noticed,  practically  they  belong 
to  the  same  category.  There  is  the  same  self-conceit 
and  self-deification,  the  same  reckless  disregard  of 
facts,  the  same  extravagant  baselessness  and  ground- 
lessness of  speculation.  In  one  species  of  folly,  they 
even  exceed  Gfroerer ;  for  while  they  admit  the  wri- 
tings of  the  apostolic  fathers,  Papias,  Ignatius,  Irenseus, 
etc.,  to  be  ancient  and  genuine,  they  affirm  that  the 
vsrritings  of  the  New  Testament  ascribed  to  John,  Paul, 
Peter,  etc.,  are  spurious,  and  the  product  of  a  later 
age.  They  have  been  abundantly  refuted  by  Thiersch, 
Ebrard,  Corner,  and  other  writers;  and  though  they 
are  the  most  recent  representatives  ot  the  sceptical 
spirit  in  Germany,  and  some  of  them  (as  for  example, 
Baur),  accomplished  scholars  and  powerful  writers, 
they  are  already  growing  obsolete,  and  fast  hastening 
to  a  deserved  oblivion. 

Truth  alone  is  immutable  and  permanent ;  error  has 
numberless  forms,  and  in  all  of  them  it  is  transient, 
and  short-lived. 

After  all  these  assaults  and  speculations  the  honest 
old  Bible  stands  just  where  it  did  before,  speaks  the 
same  language,  exerts  the  same  influence,  and  emits 
the  same  heavenly  radiance.  This  sure  word  of  proph- 
ecy will  remain,  and  we  do  well  to  take  heed  to  ^Y,  as  to 
a  light  that  shmeth  in  a  dark  place^  till  the  day  datvn, 
and  the  day  star  arise  in  our  hearts. 

The  enormous  self-confidence  and  self-estimation  of 
this  whole  class  of  Gospel  assailers,  most  forcibly  re- 
minds us  of  the  words  of  Holy  writ :  Seest  thou  a  maji 
loise  in  his  oiv7i  conceit?  there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool 
than  of  him.  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace 
to  the  humble. 


302  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 


THE  REAL  VALUE  OP  THESE    SUBSTITUTES  FOR  THE  GOSPEL 

HISTORY. 

These  assaults  on  the  Gospels  consist  of  two  parts, 
namely,  1,  Objections  to  the  historical  truth  of  the 
Gospels,  derived  from  the  narrative  itself,  and,  2,  Hy- 
potheses to  account  for  the  existence  and  influence  of 
the  Gospels,  supposing  them  to  be  historically  untrue. 
It  is  these  hypotheses  only  which  we  have  thus  far 
considered.  The  objections  are  matters  of  detail,  and 
must  be  considered  in  detail,  and  there  is  no  room  for 
them  in  a  volume  of  this  kind.  A  few  will  be  selected 
as  specimens  of  the  whole,  and  answers  given  to  them 
which  will  show  how  all  the  rest  may  be  answered. 

In  considering  these  objections,  we  must  always  bear 
it  in  mind  that  the  Gospels  are  not,  and  do  not  profess 
to  be,  complete  histories.  They  are  simply  detached 
memoirs,  or  select  anecdotes,  intended  solely  to  illus- 
trate the  character  and  teachings  of  Christ,  to  show 
what  kind  of  a  teacher  he  was,  and  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  substance  and  manner  of  his  teaching.  This  the 
writers  themselves  affirm  in  so  many  words.  Says 
John,  at  the  close  of  his  narrative :  There  are  also 
many  other  things  which  Jesus  did.,  the  ivhich^  if  they 
should  he  ivritten  every  one^  I  suppose  that  even  the 
world  itself  could  not  contain  the  hooks  that  should  he 
written. 

And  many  other  signs  truly  did  Jesus  in  the  presence 
of  his  disciples.,  which  are  not  tvritten  in  this  hook. 
But  these  are  written  that  ye  might  helieve  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  helieving  ye  might 
have  life  through  his  name.     John  xxi.  25 ;  xx.  30,  31. 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL   HIST.       303 

Out  of  the  countless  multitude  of  events  in  our  Sav- 
iour's life,  and  from  his  numberless  teachings,  the  differ- 
ent evangelists  select  different  transactions  and  different 
discourses  for  this  purpose,  all  equally  appropriate,  as 
would  also  have  been  thousands  of  others  which  are 
left  unrecorded.  The  evangelists  sometimes  repeat 
each  other,  but  very  often  they  do  not ;  and  not  one  of 
them  undertakes,  or  pretends,  to  give  a  complete  narra- 
tive of  all  that  Jesus  did  and  said,  but  on  the  contrary, 
they  all  carefully  and  expressly  disclaim  any  such  un- 
dertaking or  intention. 

The  most  plausible  of  the  objections  to  which  we 
allude,  are  derived  from  supposed  contradictions  in 
the  Gospel  narrative ;  but  such  contradictions  are  as- 
sumed and  sujpposed  ;  they  have  never  yet  been  proved. 

For  example,  in  Luke  vii.  1-10,  we  are  informed, 
that  when  Jesus  was  in  Capernaum,  a  centurion  there 
sent  friends  to  him,  requesting  him  to  heal  a  sick  serv- 
ant of  his,  who  was  very  dear  to  him. 

In  John  iv,  46-53,  we  are  told,  that  when  Jesus  was 
in  Cana,  a  nobleman  of  Capernaum,  whose  son  was 
sick,  went  himself  to  Jesus,  and  asked  him  to  heal  his 
son. 

In  both  cases  the  sick  person  was  restored  without 
being  seen  by  Jesus. 

Because  there  are  points  of  similarity  in  the  two 
narratives,  the  objectors  assume  that  they  are  intended 
as  narratives  of  the  same  event ;  and  then  they  point 
out  the  discrepancies  between  them,  to  show  that  the 
Gospel  history  is  unworthy  of  credit.  The  fallacious- 
ness of  this  mode  of  reasoning,  especially  when  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  nature  of  the  Gospel 


304  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

narrative  as  already  pointed  out,  is  very  easily  demon- 
strated. We  will  suppose  two  discourses  by  two  dif- 
ferent authors,  intended  to  illustrate  American  charac- 
ter by  incidents  of  American  history.  One  of  these 
authors  gives  in  illustration,  the  battle  of  Baltimore ; 
the  other,  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  in  1815.  In  these 
two  battles  there  were  remarkable  coincidences,  as 
well  as  remarkable  diversities.  They  both  took  place 
during  the  same  war ;  in  both,  an  assault  was  made  by 
a  British  army  on  an  American  city ;  in  both,  the 
British  commander  was  killed,  and  his  troops  repulsed. 
But,  in  the  one  case  there  were  cotton-bale  intrench- 
ments ;  in  the  other,  there  were  none.  In  the  one 
battle.  Gen.  Jackson  gained  great  celebrity  ;  in  the 
other,  he  was  not  present.  One  battle  occurred  on  the 
southern  border  of  the  United  States ;  the  other,  on 
the  eastern.  Some  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand 
years  hence,  a  Hegelian  critic  gets  hold  of  these  two 
discourses — and  for  the  sake  of  destroying  the  credit 
of  both,  afiirms  that  they  both  refer  to  the  same  bat- 
tle ;  and  gives  the  purpose  and  object  of  the  writers, 
namely,  the  illustration  of  American  character  from 
American  history,  and  states  all  the  resemblances,  to 
prove  that  they  do  Ijotli  intend  the  same  event ;  and 
then  states  all  the  discrepancies  to  show  that  they  are 
not  reliable  histories.  He  will  not  hear  to  the  sug- 
gestion that  they  may  be  giving  accounts  of  different 
battles — the  similarities  are  too  numerous  and  striking 
to  admit  of  that  idea ;  nor  will  he  allow  that  one  of 
the  two  narratives,  after  all,  may  be  true,  for  the  style 
and  tone  of  the  two  are  so  exactly  alike,  that  if  one 
is  false,  the  other  must  certainly  be  false  also. 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL   HIST.       305 

This  is  a  fair  illustration  of  a  raultitude  of  the  most 
plausible  and  strongest  of  the  objections  of  Strauss 
and  his  colaborers ;  and  sometimes  they  are  even  ten- 
fold more  fallacious  and  absurd  than  this. 

For  example,  Luke  xvii.  11-19,  at  the  gate  of  the 
city  of  Nain,  Jesus  raised  from  the  dead  a  young  man, 
the  only  son  of  a  widowed  mother. 

Mark  v.  35-43,  in  the  house  of  Jairus,  a  ruler  of  the 
synagogue,  Jesus  raises  from  the  dead  a  daughter  of 
this  Jairus.  a  little  girl  twelve  years  old. 

Now,  says  Gfroerer,  there  are  such  resemblances  in 
these  narratives,  that  they  must  be  identical,  yet  so 
diverse  are  they,  that  they  destroy  the  historical  credit 
of  the  writers.  The  difference  of  place,  the  difference 
of  sex  in  both  parent  and  child,  the  diversity  of  all 
the  attending  circumstances,  prove,  not  that  they  were 
two  different  transactions,  but  that  the  writers  are  not 
truthful ;  for  the  resemblances  are  so  strong,  that  the 
proof  of  identity  is  irresistible,  whatever  improbaibili- 
ties  may  intervene.  What  are  these  resemblances 
which  make  the  conclusion  of  identity  so  irresistible ! 

Why,  these  and  these  only — (1)  they  were  both 
young  people,  (2)  they  each  had  a  living  parent,  (3) 
they  both  died,  and  (4)  they  were  both  raised  from 
the  dead.  By  the  same  kind  of  argument  we  might 
prove  irresistibly,  and  in  spite  of  all  inherent  improb- 
abilities, the  identity  of  Gen.  Jackson  and  Mr.  Yan 
Buren's  grandmother,  that  they  were  one  and  the  same 
person — for  (1)  they  were  both  old  people,  (2)  they 
were  both  very  fond  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  (3)  they  both 
died,  and  (4)  they  neither  of  them  ever  rose  from  the 
dead — and  the  difference  of  sex,  and  name,  and  place 
20 


306  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  abode,  and  all  things  of  that  kind  arc  merely  the 
discrepancies  of  unreliable  historians. 

Such  is  the  character  of  the  objections  which  these 
critics  make — such  is  the  kind  of  contradictions  which 
they  point  out — and  when  we  examine  their  hypotheses^ 
we  find  them  quite  as  baseless  as  their  objections^  and 
even  more  so.  Their  positive  side  is  no  more  tenable 
than  their  negative.  Their  constructive  efforts  are  even 
more  decided  failures  than  their  destructive. 

Their  hypotheses  have  absolutely  nothing  to  stand 
upon.  They  are  made  wholly  out  of  air  and  fog,  and 
the  moment  the  sun  shines  on  them  they  are  gone. 
We  can  at  any  time  and  on  any  historical  subject  what- 
ever, make  a  thousand  suppositions,  all  false,  yet  all  as 
plausible  as  any  of  these.  That  fine  piece  of  bur- 
lesque by  Archbishop  Whately,  entitled  "  Historical 
Doubts  respecting  Napoleon  Bonaparte,"  in  which  he 
shows  how  exceedingly  improbable  it  is  that  any  such 
person  as  Napoleon  ever  existed,  is  tenfold  more  plaus- 
ible and  sustained  by  arguments  tenfold  stronger 
than  many  of  these  Hegelian  hypotheses  of  the  Gos- 
pel history. 

In  all  their  hypotheses  they  entirely  mistake  the 
times  and  the  men  wherein  the  Gospel  history  origin- 
ated. Their  theories  are  such  as  could  have  arisen 
only  in  the  minds  of  studious,  speculative  men,  greatly 
in  want  of  something  to  do,  and  driven  to  the  neces- 
sity of  inventing  something  to  say  that  shall  be  new, 
striking  and  attractive,  in  order  to  draw  attention  to 
themselves  and  their  sayings ;  and  they  seem  to  imag- 
ine that  the  early  promoters  of  Christianity  were  very 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      307 

much  the  same  kind  of  men  and  in  very  nearly  the 
same  circumstances  as  themselves.  Their  theories  all 
smell  very  strongly  of  the  shop.  In  their  judgment 
of  the  evangelists,  apostles  and  martyrs  of  the  early 
church,  they  are  quite  as  much  out  of  the  way,  as  an 
exquisite  of  the  west  end  of  London  would  be,  if  he 
were  to  undertake,  from  his  own  feelings,  purposes 
and  daily  employments,  to  form  an  estimate  of  the 
feelings,  purposes  and  daily  employments  of  a  back- 
woodsman in  the  Western  States  of  America.  Were 
they  to  ask  me  the  question :  "  Why  are  we  not  quali- 
fied to  write  critiques  of  the  Gospel  history  ?  "—I 
would  reply  to  them,  as  Henry  More  did  to  Southey, 
when  he  inquired:  "Why  am  not  I  qualified  to  write 
a  biography  of  John  Wesley  ? "  "  Sir,  thou  hast 
nothing  to  draw  with,  and  the  well  is  deep." 

To  think  of  the  apostle  John  writing  his  Gospel  as 
Weisse  supposes — or  the  early  teachers  of  Christianity 
inventing  myths  as  Strauss  imagines — what  can  be 
conceived  more  utterly  inappropriate  to  the  times  and 
the  men — more  entirely  beyond  the  limits  of  all  inhe- 
rent probability  ?  Indeed,  these  German  unbelievers 
do  not  intend  to  be  probable,  nor  have  they  any  seri- 
ous purpose  of  discovering  and  advocating  truth. 
They  delight  in  a  sort  of  intellectual  gladiatorship, 
and  nothing  with  them  is  too  serious  to  be  made  a 
plaything  of  They  sport  with  God  and  eternity,  witli 
heaven  and  hell,  with  their  own  souls  and  the  souls  of 
their  fellow-men  ;  all  the  while  thinking  only  of  the  fine 
and  fruitful  subjects  they  are  getting  for  lectures  and 
books — but  when  their  speculations  are  imported  into 
this  land  of  serious  purpose  and  earnest  endeavor  and 


308  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

practical  results,  they  become  immediately  matters  of 
life  and  death,  of  eternal  life  and  eternal  death,  to 
thousands.  That  which  is  a  fashionable,  though  far 
from  an  innocent,  amusement  in  Germany,  is  a  deadly, 
death  dealing  work  in  America. 

But  what  are  these  mytlis^  of  which  these  assailants 
of  the  Gospel  say  so  much  ?  They  suppose  them  to 
be  fanciful  or  fabulous  narratives,  having  but  a  remote 
resemblance  to  events  of  actual  occurrence,  and  in- 
tended mainly  to  embody  certain  general  ideas,  which 
the  inventors  wished  in  this  way  to  preserve  for  the 
world.  According  to  Strauss,  the  myths  of  the  Gos- 
pel illustrate  mainly  the  dominion  of  mind  over  nature. 
The  very  idea  of  such  myths  so  near  the  time  and  the 
place  of  the  alleged  occurrence  of  the  events,  presents 
to  the  sober  mind  nothing  but  the  aspect  of  a  blank 
impossibility.  According  to  Strauss's  own  showing, 
not  a  single  generation  had  passed  away,  before  the 
myths  began  to  spring  up  like  mushrooms  on  the  very 
soil  of  Palestine  itself  As  well  might  we  now  have  a 
mythical  history  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  or 
myths  of  the  presidential  election  in  1840 — and  these 
poetical  romances,  these  moral  apologues,  these  elabo- 
rate fictions  designed  to  illustrate  great  moral  truths, 
invented  and  put  in  circulation  by  the  hard  old  soldiers 
and  the  tough  old  politicians  who  took  a  leading  part 
in  the  actual  events,  (whatever  they  might  be) — and 
implicitly  believed  as  actual  matters  of  fact  by  the 
simple  hearted  people  who  did  the  fighting  and  the 
voting !  Surely  the  legends  and  religious  fables  of 
the  patristic  and  mediaeval  period  do  not  equal  in 
baselessness  and  extravagance  the  inventions  and  hy- 


SUBSTITUTES   FOR    THE    GOSPEL   HIST.      309 

potheses  of  these  philosophic  Gospel-assailers  in  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  and  besides,  the  for- 
mer have  at  least  the  advantage  of  being  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  veneration  and  the  love  of  God,  of  which 
the  latter  have  not  a  particle. 

True,  there  were  apocryphal  gospels,  containing 
romances  and  myths — but  these,  for  the  most  part, 
were  remote  both  in  time  and  place  from  the  actual 
scenes  of  the  Gospel  history,  and  written  after  men 
had  begun  to  withdraw  into  deserts  and  caves  and  con- 
vents, to  spend  their  lives  in  solitude  and  mortification, 
hoping  thereby  to  gain  the  favor  of  God ;  instead  of 
going  about  doing  good^  as  Christ  did,  and  as  he  taught 
all  the  early  preachers  of  Christianity  to  do. 

Theodore  Parker  occasionally  says  some  very  good 
things,  and  he  happily  illustrates  the  folly  of  this  whole 
method  of  inventing  history  in  regard  to  the  Gospels 
rather  than  studying  history,  by  applying  it  to  an  im- 
portant event  in  our  own  American  annals.     He  says : 

"  The  story  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is 
liable  to  many  objections,  if  we  examine  it  a  la  mode 
Strauss,  The  Congress  was  held  at  a  mythical  town, 
whose  very  name  is  suspicious, — Philadelphia, — broth- 
erly love.  The  date  is  suspicious,  it  was  the  fourth 
day  of  the  fourth  month  (reckoning  from  April^  as  it 
is  probable  the  Heraclidge  and  Scandinavians,  possible 
that  the  aboriginal  Americans,  and  certain  that  the 
Hebrews  did).  Now  four  was  a  sacred  number  with 
the  Americans ;  the  president  was  chosen  for  four 
years ;  there  were  four  departments  of  affairs ;  four 
divisions  of  the  political  powers,  namely,  the  people, 
the  congress,  the   executive,  and  the  judiciary,  etc. 


310  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Besides,  which  is  still  more  incredible,  three  of  the 
presidents,  two  of  whom,  it  is  alleged,  signed  the  de- 
claration, died  on  i]iQ  fourth  of  July,  and  the  two  lat- 
ter exactly  fifty  years  after  they  had  signed  it,  and 
about  the  same  hour  of  the  day.     The  year  also  is 
suspicious;   1776  is  but  an  ingenious  combination  of 
the  sacred  number,  fom\  which  is  repeated  three  times, 
and  then  multiplied  by  itself  to  produce  the  date  ; 
thus  444x4=1776.     .     .     .     Still  farther,  the  declar- 
ation is  metaphysical,  and  presupposes  an  acquaintance 
with  the  transcendental  philosophy  on  the  part  of  the 
American  people.     Now  the  "  Kritik  of  Pure  Reason  " 
was  not  published  till  after  the  declaration  was  made. 
Still  farther,  the  Americans  were  never,  to  use  the 
nebulous  expression  of  certain  philosophers,  an  "idealo- 
transcendental-and-subjective,"  but  an  "  objective-and- 
concretivo-practical "  people,  to  the  last  degree ;  there- 
fore a  metaphysical  document,  and  most  of  all  a  "  legal- 
congressional-metaphysical  "  document,  is  highly  sus- 
picious if  found  among  them.     Besides,  Hualteperah, 
the   great  historian  of  Mexico,  a  neighboring  state, 
never  mentions  this  document ;    and   farther  still,  if 
this  declaration  had  been  made,  and  accepted  by  the 
whole  nation,  as  it  is  pretended,  then  we  can  not  ac- 
count for  the  fact,  that  the  fundamental  maxim  of  that 
paper,  namely,  the  soul's  equality  to  itself — "all  men 
are  born  free  and  equal  " — was  perpetually  lost  sight 
of,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  people  kept  in  slavery ; 
still  later,   petitions, — supported  by  this  fundamental 
article — for  the  abolition  of    slavery,  were  rejected 
by   Congress  with    unexampled   contempt,   when,  if 
the  history  is  not  mythical,  slavery  never  had  a  legal 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR    THE    GOSPEL    HIST.      311 

existence  after  1776,  etc.,  etc.  But  we  could  go  on 
this  way  forever." 

The  reader  will  notice  that  the  names  of  Polycarp 
and  Irenaeus  occur  in  this  volume  as  witnesses  to 
nearly  every  book  of  the  New  Testament.  To  show 
how  immediately  these  witnesses  are  connected  with 
the  apostles  themselves,  and  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  room  and  no  time  for  the  formation  of  the  myths 
on  which  Strauss,  and  Renan,  and  the  other  roman- 
cers on  the  Gospel  history  rely,  we  close  this  chapter 
with  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Irenaeus  to  Flori- 
nus,  an  elder  in  the  church  at  Rome.  (Euseb.  E.  H. 
V.  20. 

"  For  I  saw  thee  when  I  was  yet  a  boy  in  the  lower 
Asia  with  Polycarp,  moving  in  great  splendour  at 
court,  and  endeavoring  by  all  means  to  gain  his  es- 
teem. I  remember  the  events  of  those  times  much 
better  than  those  of  more  recent  occurrence.  As  the 
studies  of  our  youth  growing  with  our  minds,  unite 
with  it  so  firmly  that  I  can  tell  also  the  very  place 
where  the  blessed  Polycarp  was  accustomed  to  sit  and 
discourse  ;  and  also  his  entrances,  his  walks,  the  com- 
plexion of  his  life  and  the  form  of  his  body,  and  his 
conversations  with  the  people,  and  his  familiar  inter- 
course with  John,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  tell,  as  also 
his  familiarity  with  those  that  had  seen  the  Lord. 
How  also  he  used  to  relate  their  discourses,  and  what 
things  he  had  heard  from  them  concerning  the  Lord. 
Also  concerning  his  miracles,  his  doctrine,  all  these 
were  told  by  Polycarp,  in  consistency  with  the  holy 
Scriptures,  as  he  had  received  them  from  the  eye  wit- 
nesses of  the  doctrine  of  salvation.     These  things,  by 


312  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  opportunity  then  afforded 
me,  I  attentively  heard,  noting  them  down,  not  on 
paper,  but  in  my  heart ;  and  these  same  facts  I  am 
always  in  the  habit,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  recall 
faithfully  to  mind." 

The  same  facts  also  are  stated  by  Irenaeus,  Contra 
Haer.  iii.  3,  4.  Notice  here  that  Irenaeus  had  the 
Christian  Scriptures  at  the  same  time  that  he  had  the 
oral  testimony  of  Polycarp. 


CHAPTER  NINTH. 

ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES  AND  THE  APOCRYPHAL  ACTS. 
ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

From  the  first  sentence  in  this  book  it  is  seen  that 
Luke  intended  it  for  a  continuation  of  his  Gospel 
rather  than  a  separate  work.  The  Gospel  was  an  ac- 
count of  what  Jesus  began  to  do  and  teach  while  on 
earth  in  person,  and  the  Acts,  of  what  he  continued, 
after  his  ascension  to  heaven,  to  do  and  teach  through 
his  apostles  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  he  had 
promised.  Throughout  the  Acts  it  is  Jesus  who  does 
and  teaches  as  really  as  in  the  Gospel.  It  is  Jesus 
who  works  the  miracles,  sustains  Stephen,  delivers  and 
enlightens  Peter,  converts  and  encourages  and  teaches 
Paul,  and  so  on  through  the  book.  The  headings  or 
titles  of  the  different  books  of  the  New  Testament,  as 
of  ancient  books  generally,  were  usually  the  work  of 
the  publishers  of  the  manuscript  rather  than  of  the 
original  authors.  Hence  the  titles  are  somewhat  varied 
in  successive  publications ;  in  the  New  Testament  books 
the  most  ancient  being  the  shortest  and  simplest. 
Thus  in  this  book,  the  older  manuscripts  are  entitled, 
Acts  of  Apostles^  Acting  of  Apostles^  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles^  The  Acts  of  the  Holy  Apostles^  Luke  the  Evan- 
gelist's Acts  of  the  Apostles^  and  then  toward  the  mid- 


314  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

die  ages,  Acts  of  the  Jiohj  and  all-ioraiseworthy  Apos- 
tles, luritten  hy  the  holy,  illustrious  and  all-praiseioorthy 
Luke  the  Evangelist.  The  oldest  titles,  Acts  or  Acting 
of  Apostles,  are  much  the  most  appropriate,  for  the 
book  does  not  profess  to  give  a  full  history  of  the 
apostolic  doings,  or  of  any  of  the  apostles ;  but  the 
same  course  is  pursued  as  in  the  Gospels ;  a  few  lead- 
ing pictures  are  presented,  more  or  less  connected 
with  each  other,  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  what 
the  apostles  did  and  how  they  discharged  the  impor- 
tant trusts  committed  to  them.  Only  three  of  the 
apostles  are  particularly  spoken  of  in  the  book,  to  wit, 
James,  Peter,  and  Paul.  Peter  disappears  from  the 
book  after  his  imprisonment  by  Herod  and  his  escape 
aided  by  the  angel  (xii.),  and  appears  but  once  after- 
wards, at  the  council  of  Jerusalem  (xv.);  while  almost 
the  entire  book,  from  xiii.  onward,  is  devoted  to  the 
life  and  labors  of  Paul.  The  narrative  occupies  the 
space  of  about  thirty  years ;  there  are  but  few  chro- 
nological notices  in  it,  and  these  not  very  precise  ;  the 
whole  book  is  very  brief,  not  much  larger  than  some 
single  sermons ;  yet  so  full  and  varied  is  the  informa- 
tion it  conveys  that  it  seems  to  the  reader  like  a  long 
history.  The  story  is  told  not  in  the  way  of  dry  ab- 
stract, but  of  lively  anecdote ;  it  combines  in  a  won- 
derful degree  condensation  and  fulness ;  there  is  one 
systematic  purpose  throughout,  but  the  most  uncon- 
strained freedom  of  manner  ;  the  style  is  perfectly  sim- 
ple yet  wonderfully  graphic  and  animated,  and  is  most 
skillfully  varied  as  different  persons  and  scenes  are  to 
be  represented.  This  is  seen  to  most  advantage  in 
the  different  speeches  that  are  reported,  for  though 


ACTS     OF     THE     APOSTLES  315 

they  must  be  of  necessity  the  very  briefest  of  ab- 
stracts, they  are  each  amazingly  characteristic  and 
peculiar.  Paul  addressing  the  rough  Jews  in  the  in- 
terior of  Asia  Minor,  the  polished  Greeks  of  Athens, 
the  furious  mob  at  Jerusalem,  Festus  the  governor 
and  Agrippa  the  king  at  Ceesarea,  the  elders  of  the 
church  at  Miletus,  is  always  the  same  Paul,  yet  speak- 
ing in  a  style  admirably  varied  to  meet  most  skillfully 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  each  case.  Never  before 
nor  since  has  an  abbreviator  of  discourses  retained  so 
perfectly  in  every  case  the  characteristic  features  of 
his  original.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  narrative  of  Paul's 
journeys  that  Luke  generally  accompanied  him  from 
xvi.  onward,  but  was  sometimes  separated  from  him. 
Chrysostom  testifies  that  the  book  was  read  daily  in 
the  churches  between  Easter  and  Pentacost  in  his  time 
(Hom.  i.  477),  though  it  was  introduced  later  for 
church  reading  than  some  of  the  other  books.  The 
chief  witnesses  for  the  Acts  are  Barnabas,  Clement  of 
Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Papias,  Dionysius  of  Corinth, 
Justin  Martyr,  the  Church  of  Yienne  and  Lyons,  Ire- 
naeus,  Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Tertullian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Jerome.  The  testimony 
is  full,  varied  and  explicit,  but  only  a  few  brief  speci- 
mens can  be  given  here. 

Ignatius.  "After  his  resurrection  he  did  eat  and 
drink  with  them."  Acts  x.  41. 

Pa]pias.  "  This  Justus  is  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Acts  as  the  one  over  which  the  apostles  prayed,"  etc. 
i.  23,  24. 

Dionysius  of  Corinth.  "  Dionysius  the  Areopagite, 
who  was  converted  to  the  faith  by  Paul  the  apostle, 


316  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

according  to  the  statement  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles." 

Irenaeus.  "But  that  Luke  was  inseparable  from 
Paul,  and  his  fellow-laborer  in  the  Gospel  he  himself 
makes  manifest,  for  he  says."  (Then  Irenaeus  quotes 
from  the  Acts  the  account  of  the  separation  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  and  their  missionary  journeys  in  differ- 
ent directions,  and  shows  that  Luke  was  with  Paul 
from  the  narrative  in  xvi.  11,  13,  16,  etc.) 

Athenagoras.  "  The  world  was  made  not  as  if  God 
needed  anything."  xvii.  25. 

TertidUan.  "It  is  stated  in  the  commentary  by 
Luke  that  at  the  third  hour  they  were  considered 
drunken."  ii.  15. 

Origen.  "  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  Stephen  tes- 
tifies." 

Eusehius.  "  Luke  has  left  us  in  two  inspired  books — ■ 
one  of  these  is  the  Gospel — the  other  is  his  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  The  Areopagite,  called  Dionysius,  whom 
Luke  has  recorded  in  his  Acts."  iii.  4,  also  ii.  22. 

The  testimony  is  full,  unequivocal,  uncontradicted, 
that  Luke  wrote  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  sama 
*  that  we  have  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  this  the  in- 
ternal  evidence  clearly  shows. 

Church  of  Lyons  and  Vienne.  "As  Stephen  the 
perfected  martyr.  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their 
charge."  vii.  60. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "As  Luke  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  mentions  Paul  saying,  Ye  men  of  A  thens." 
etc.  xvii.  22,  23. 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     ACTS.  317 


APOCRYPHAL   ACTS    OF    THE   APOSTLES. 

Of  these  Prof.  Tischendorf,  the  most  indefatigable 
and  successful  scholar  of  modern  times  in  this  branch 
of  literature,  published  in  1851,  thirteen,  to  wit:  1, 
Acts  of  Peter  and  Paul ;  2,  of  Paul  and  Thecla ;  3,  of 
Barnabas  by  Mark ;  4,  of  Philip ;  5,  of  Philip  in 
Greece ;  6,  of  Andrew ;  7,  of  Andrew  and  Matthias ; 
8,  Acts  and  Martyrdom  of  Matthew ;  9,  Acts  of  Thom- 
as; 10,  The  Consummation  (^Teleiosis)  of  Thomas ;  11, 
Acts  of  Bartholomew;  12,  Acts  of  Thaddeus;  13, 
Acts  of  John. 

Some  of  these  are  of  very  early  date,  reaching  as 
high  at  least  as  the  beginning  of  the  third  or  latter 
part  of  the  second  century;  but  they  were  never  de- 
livered to  any  of  the  churches,  they  were  written  for 
the  most  part,  as  Tertullian,  Eusebius,  Gelasius,  Epiph- 
anius,  Jerome,  Augustin,  and  other  ancient  witnesses 
assure  us  (Tischendorf,  Proleg.),  in  the  interest  of  some 
particular  error  to  which  the  churches  were  opposed, 
and  they  never  had  any  very  wide  circulation.  The 
most  ancient  existing  manuscripts  of  these  books  are 
generally  not  earlier  than  the  10th  or  the  11th  century ; 
and  a  slight  inspection  of  them  fully  justifies  the  sound 
discretion  of  the  early  Christians  in  rejecting  them. 
It  is  indeed  surprising  that  books  written  so  near  the 
apostolic  times,  and  among  the  class  of  people  to  whom 
the  apostles  preached,  should  be  so  entirely  different 
from  all  the  apostolic  writings.  To  the  candid  thinker 
the  contrast  affords  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of 
the  absolute  divine  inspiration  of  the  New  Testament 
books.     We  will  select  for  examination  two  of  the 


318  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

best  of  these,  apocryphal  Acts,  those  numbered  2  and 
7  in  the  enumeration  of  Tischendorf,  and  will  endeavor 
to  make  the  analysis  sufficiently  comprehensive  to  put 
the  reader  entirely  in  possession  of  the  means  of  judg- 
ing between  these  and  our  sacred  books. 

ACTS  OF  PAUL  AND  THECLA. 

This  book  must  be  very  ancient,  for  it  is  mentioned 
by  Tertullian,  who  was  born  A.  D.  160.  We  have  the 
most  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  book,  as  we  now 
read  it,  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  same  as  that 
which  was  read  by  Tertullian,  though  of  course,  as  is 
the  case  with  all  ancient  books,  there  are  variations 
and  errors  in  the  written  text.  It  sometimes  had  for 
its  title.  Concerning  the  holy  and  glorious  and  illustri- 
ous martyr  Thecla,  who  was  in  Iconium.  Thecla  is  a 
saint  both  in  the  Greek  and  Romish  churches,  and  her 
virtues  are  celebrated  by  the  latter  on  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember. The  two  oldest  manuscripts  which  Tischen- 
dorf found,  are  both  in  Paris,  nd  both  of  the  eleventh 
century. 

Tertullian  says  the  book  was  first  written  in  the  in- 
terest of  those  that  held  that  women  had  the  right  to 
preach  and  baptize  ;  and  it  was  much  esteemed  by  the 
early  Quakers  as  sustaining  their  views  of  the  position 
of  women  in  the  church. 

The  following  extract,  being  the  first  five  chapters 
in  the  old  English  translation  by  Archbishop  Wake, 
will  give  a  sufficient  idea  of  the  whole  book,  and  ena- 
ble the  reader  to  make  a  fair  comparison  between  the 
best  of  the  apocryphal  and  the  canonical  Acts : 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     ACTS.  319 

"When  Paul  went  up  to  Iconium,  after  his  flight  from 
Antioch,  Demas  and  Hermogenes  became  his  compan- 
ions, who  were  then  full  of  hypocrisy.  But  Paul,  look- 
ing only  at  the  goodness  of  God,  did  them  no  harm, 
but  loved  them  greatly.  Accordingly  he  endeavored 
to  make  agreeable  to  them  all  the  oracles  and  doctrines 
of  Christ,  and  the  design  of  the  Gospel  of  God's  well- 
beloved  Son,  instructing  them  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  as  it  was  revealed  to  him.  And  a  certain  man 
named  Onesiphorus,  hearing  that  Paul  was  come  to 
Iconium,  went  out  speedily  to  meet  him,  together  with 
his  wife  Lectra,  and  his  sons  Simmia  and  Zeno,  to  in- 
vite him  to  their  house.  For  Titus  had  given  them  a 
description  of  Paul's  personage,  they  as  yet  not  know- 
ing him  in  person,  but  only  being  acquainted  with  his 
character.  They  went  in  the  king's  highway  to  Lystra, 
and  stood  there  waiting  for  him,  comparing  all  who 
passed  by,  with  that  description  which  Titus  had  given 
them.  At  length  they  saw  a  man  coming  (namely, 
Paul),  of  a  low  stature,  bald  (or  shaved)  on  the  head, 
crooked  thighs,  handsome  legs,  hollow-eyed ;  had  a 
crooked  nose;  full  of  grace;  for  sometimes  he  ap- 
peared as  a  man,  sometimes  he  had  the  countenance 
of  an  angel.  And  Paul  saw  Onesiphorus,  and  was 
glad.  And  Onesiphorus  said.  Hail,  thou  servant  of  the 
blessed  God.  Paul  replied.  The  grace  of  God  be  with 
thee  and  thy  family.  But  Demas  and  Hermogenes 
were  moved  with  envy,  and  under  a  show  of  great 
religion  Demas  said,  and  are  not  we  also  servants  of 
the  blessed  God  ?  Why  didst  thou  not  salute  us  ? 
Onesiphorus  replied,  Because  I  have  not  perceived 
in  you  the  fruits  of  righteousness ;  nevertheless,  if  ye 


320  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

are  of  that  sort,  ye  sliall  be  welcome  to  my  house  also. 
Then  Paul  went  into  the  House  of  Onesiphorus, 
and  there  was  great  joy  among  the  family  on  that  ac- 
cjount ;  and  they  employed  themselves  in  prayer,  break- 
ing of  bread,  and  hearing  Paul  preach  the  word  of 
Grod  concerning  temperance  and  the  resurrection,  in 
the  following  manner ;  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart ; 
for  they  shall  see  God.  Blessed  are  they  who  keep 
their  flesh  undefiled  (or  pure) ;  for  they  shall  be  the 
temples  of  God.  Blessed  are  the  temperate  (or 
chaste);  for  God  will  reveal  himself  to  them.  Blessed 
are  they  who  abandon  their  secular  enjoyments;  for 
they  shall  be  accepted  of  God.  Blessed  are  they  who 
have  wives,  as  though  they  had  them  not ;  for  they 
shall  be  made  angels  of  God.  Blessed  are  they  who 
tremble  at  the  word  of  God ;  for  they  shall  be  com- 
forted. Blessed  are  they  who  keep  their  Baptism 
pure ;  for  they  shall  find  peace  with  the  Father,  Son, 
aixl  Holy  Ghost.  Blessed  are  they  who  pursue  the 
wisdom  (or  doctrine)  of  Jesus  Christ ;  for  they  shall 
be  called  the  sons  of  the  Most  High.  Blessed  are  they 
who  observe  the  instructions  of  Jesus  Christ ;  for  they 
shall  dwell  in  eternal  light.  Blessed  are  they,  who  for 
the  love  of  Christ  abandon  the  glories  of  the  world ; 
for  they  shall  judge  angels,  and  be  placed  at  the  right 
hand  of  Christ,  and  shall  not  suffer  the  bitterness  of 
the  last  judgment.  Blessed  are  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  virgins ;  for  they  are  acceptable  to  God,  and  shall 
not  lose  the  reward  of  their  virginity ;  for  the  word 
of  their  (heavenly)  Father  shall  prove  effectual  to 
their  salvation  in  the  day  of  his  Son,  and  they  shall 
enjoy  rest  for  evermore. 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     ACTS,  321 

While  Paul  was  preaching  this  sermon  in  the  church 
which  was  in  the  house  of  Onesiphorus,  a  certain  virgin 
named  Thecla  (whose  mother's  name  was  Theoclia,  and 
who  was  betrothed  to  a  man  named  Thamyris)  sat  at 
a  certain  window  in  her  house,  from  whence,  by  the 
advantage  of  a  window  in  the  house  where  Paul  was, 
she  both  night  and  day  heard  Paul's  sermons  concern- 
ing God,  concerning  charity,  concerning  faith  in  Christ, 
and  concerning  prayer;  nor  would  she  depart  from 
the  window,  till  with  exceeding  joy  she  was  subdued 
to  the  doctrines  of  faith.  At  length,  when  she  saw 
many  women  and  virgins  going  in  to  Paul,  she  earnestly 
desired  that  she  might  be  thought  worthy  to  appear 
in  his  presence,  and  hear  the  word  of  Christ ;  for  she 
had  not  yet  seen  Paul's  person,  but  only  heard  his  ser- 
mons, and  that  alone.  But  when  she  would  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  depart  from  the  window,  her  mother 
sent  to  Thamyris,  who  came  Avith  the  greatest  pleasure, 
as  hoping  now  to  marry  her.  Accordingly,  he  said  to 
Theoclia,  Where  is  my  Thecla  ?  Theoclia  replied, 
Thamyris,  I  have  something  very  strange  to  tell  you ; 
for  Thecla,  for  the  space  of  three  days,  will  not  move 
from  the  window,  not  so  much  as  to  eat  or  drink,  but 
is  so  intent  on  hearing  the  artful  and  delusive  discourses 
of  a  certain  foreigner,  that  I  perfectly  admire,  Thamy- 
ris, that  a  young  woman  of  her  known  modesty,  will 
suffer  herself  to  be  so  prevailed  upon.  For  that  man 
has  disturbed  the  whole  city  of  Iconium,  and  even 
your  Thecla  among  others.  All  the  women  and  young 
men  flock  to  him  to  receive  his  doctrine ;  who,  besides 
all  the  rest,  tolls  them,  that  there  is  but  one  God,  who 
alone  is  to  be  worshipped,  and  that  we  ought  to  live 
21  X-    " 


322  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

in  chastity.  Notwithstanding  this,  my  daughter  Thecla, 
like  a  spider's  web,  fastened  to  the  window,  is  capti- 
vated by  the  discourses  of  Paul,  and  attends  upon 
them  with  prodigious  eagerness,  and  vast  delight ;  and 
thus,  by  attending  on  what  he  says,  the  young  woman 
is  seduced.  Now  then  do  you  go,  and  speak  to  her, 
for  she  is  betrothed  to  you.  Accordingly  Thamyris 
went,  and  having  saluted  her,  taking  care  not  to  sur- 
prise her,  he  said,  Thecla,  my  spouse,  why  sittest  thou 
in  this  melancholy  posture?  What  strange  impres- 
sions are  made  upon  thee?  Turn  to  Thamyris,  and 
blush.  Her  mother  also  spake  to  her  after  the  same 
manner,  and  said.  Child,  why  dost  thou  sit  so  melan- 
choly, and,  like  one  astonished,  makest  no  reply? 
Then  they  wept  exceedingly ;  Thamyris,  that  he  had 
lost  his  spouse ;  Theoclia,  that  she  had  lost  her  daugh- 
ter ;  and  the  maids,  that  they  had  lost  their  mistress ; 
and  there  was  a  universal  mourning  in  the  family. 
But  all  these  things  made  no  impression  upon  Thecla, 
so  as  to  incline  her  so  much  as  to  turn  to  them,  and 
take  notice  of  them ;  for  she  still  regarded  the  dis- 
courses of  Paul.  Then  Thamyris  ran  forth  into  the 
street,  to  observe  who  they  were  that  went  in  to  Paul, 
and  came  out  from  him  ;  and  he  saw  two  men  engaged 
in  a  very  warm  dispute,  and  said  to  them :  Sirs,  what 
business  have  you  here  ?  and  who  is  that  man  within, 
belonging  to  you,  who  deludes  the  minds  of  men,  both 
young  men  and  virgins,  persuading  them,  that  they 
ought  not  to  marry,  but  continue  as  they  are?  I 
promise  to  give  you  a  considerable  sum,  if  you  will 
give  me  a  just  account  of  him;  for  I  am  the  cliicf  per- 
son of  this  city.     Demas  and  Ilermogenes  replied.  We 


THE     APOCRFPHAL     ACTS.  323 

can  not  so  exactly  tell  who  he  is,  but  this  we  know, 
that  he  deprives  young  men  of  their  (intended)  wives, 
and  virgins  of  their  (intended)  husbands,  by  teaching, 
there  can  be  no  future  resurrection,  unless  ye  continue 
in  chastity,  and  do  not  defile  your  flesh. 

Then  said  Thamyris,  Come  along  with  me  to  my 
house,  and  refresh  yourselves.  So  they  went  to  a 
very  splendid  entertainment,  where  there  was  wine  in 
abundance,  and  very  rich  provision.  They  were 
brought  to  a  table  very  richly  spread,  and  made  to 
drink  plentifully  by  Thamyris,  on  account  of  the  love 
he  had  for  Thecla,  and  his  desire  to  marry  her.  Then 
Thamyris  said,  I  desire  you  would  inform  me  what  the 
doctrines  of  this  Paul  are,  that  I  may  understand  them ; 
for  I  am  under  no  small  concern  about  Thecla,  seeing 
she  delights  in  that  stranger's  discourses,  so  that  I  am  in 
danger  of  losing  my  intended  wife.  Then  Demas  and 
Hermogenes  answered  both  together,  and  said,  Let 
him  be  brought  before  the  governor  Castellius,  as  one 
who  endeavors  to  persuade  the  people  into  the  new 
religion  of  the  Christians,  and  he,  according  to  the 
order  of  Caesar,  will  put  him  to  death,  by  which  means 
you  will  obtain  your  wife ;  while  we  at  the  same  time 
will  teach  her  that  the  resurrection  which  he  speaks 
of,  is  already  come,  and  consists  in  our  having  children ; 
and  that  we  then  arose  again,  when  we  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  God.  Thamyris,  having  this  account 
from  them,  was  filled  with  hot  resentment ;  and  rising 
early  in  the  morning,  he  went  to  the  house  of  One- 
siphorus,  attended  by  the  magistrates,  the  jailor,  and 
a  great  multitude  of  people  with  staves,  and  said  to 
Paul,  Thou  hast  perverted  the  city  of  Iconium,  and, 


324  BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

among  the  rest,  Thecla,  who  is  betrothed  to  me,  so  that 
now  she  will  not  marry  me.  Thou  shalt  therefore  go 
with  us  to  the  governor  Castellius.  And  all  the  multi- 
tude cried  out.  Away  with  this  impostor  (magician), 
for  he  has  perverted  the  minds  of  our  wives,  and  all 
the  people  hearken  to  him. 

Then  Thamyris,  standing  before  the  governor's  judg- 
ment-seat, spake  with  a  loud  voice  in  the  following 
manner :  0  governor,  I  know  not  whence  this  man 
Cometh ;  but  he  is  one  who  teaches  that  matrimony  is 
unlawful.  Command  him  therefore  to  declare  before 
you  for  what  reason  he  publishes  such  doctrines.  While 
he  was  saying  thus,  Demas  and  Hermogenes  whispered 
to  Thamyris,  and  said.  Say  that  he  is  a  Christian,  and 
he  will  presently  be  put  to  death.  But  the  governor 
was  more  deliberate,  and  calling  to  Paul,  he  said.  Who 
art  thou  ?  What  dost  thou  teach  ?  They  seem  to  lay 
gross  crimes  to  thy  charge.  Paul  then  spake  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying.  As  I  am  now  called  to  give  an  ac- 
count, 0  governor,  of  my  doctrines,  I  desire  your 
audience.  That  God,  who  is  a  God  of  vengeance,  and 
who  stands  in  need  of  nothing  but  the  salvation  of  his 
creatures,  has  sent  me  to  reclaim  them  from  their 
wickedness  and  corruptions,  from  all  (sinful)  pleasures, 
and  from  death  ;  and  to  persuade  them  to  sin  no  more. 
On  this  account,  God  sent  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
I  preach,  and  in  whom  I  instruct  men  to  place  their 
hopes,  as  that  person  who  only  had  such  compassion 
on  the  deluded  world,  that  it  might  not,  0  governor, 
be  condemned,  but  have  faith,  the  fear  of  God,  the 
knowledge  of  religion,  and  the  love  of  truth.  So  that 
if  I  only  teach  those  things  which  I  have  received  by 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   ACTS.  325 

revelation  from  God,  where  is  my  crime  ?  When  the 
governor  heard  this,  he  ordered  Paul  to  be  bound,  and 
to  be  put  in  prison,  till  he  should  be  more  at  leisure  to 
hear  him  more  fully.  But  in  the  night,  Thecla,  taking 
off  her  ear-rings,  gave  them  to  the  turnkey  of  the 
prison,  who  then  opened  the  doors  to  her,  and  let  her 
in  ;  and  when  she  made  a  present  of  a  silver  looking- 
glass  to  the  jailer,  was  allowed  to  go  into  the  room 
where  Paul  was ;  then  she  sat  down  at  his  feet,  and 
heard  from  him  the  great  things  of  God.  And  as  she 
preceived  Paul  not  to  be  afraid  of  suffering,  but  that 
by  divine  assistance  he  behaved  himself  with  courage, 
her  faith  so  far  increased,  that  she  kissed  his  chains. 

At  length  Thecla  was  missed,  and  sought  for  by  the 
family  and  by  Thamyris  in  every  street,  as  though  she 
had  been  lost ;  till  one  of  the  porter's  fellow-servants 
told  them,  that  she  had  gone  out  in  the  night  time. 
Then  they  examined  the  porter,  and  he  told  them,  that 
she  was  gone  to  the  prison  to  the  strange  man.  They 
went  therefore  according  to  his  direction,  and  there 
found  her ;  and  when  they  came  out,  they  got  a  mob 
together,  and  went  and  told  the  governor  all  that  hap- 
pened. Upon  which  he  ordered  Paul  to  be  brouglit 
before  his  judgment-seat.  Thecla  in  the  mean  time 
lay  wallowing  on  the  ground,  in  the  prison,  in  that 
same  place  where  Paul  had  sat  to  teach  her ;  upon  whic'i 
the  governor  also  ordered  her  to  be  brought  before 
his  judgment-seat ;  which  summons  she  received  with 
joy,  and  went.  When  Paul  was  brought  thither,  the 
mob  with  more  vehemence  cried  out.  He  is  a  magi- 
cian ;  let  him  die.  Nevertheless,  the  governor  attend- 
ed with  pleasure  upon  Paul's  discourses  of  the  holy 


326  BOOKS    OF    THE   BIBLE. 

works  of  Christ ;  and,  after  a  council  called,  he  sum- 
moned Thecla,  and  said  to  her,  Why  do  you  not,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  the  Inconians,  marry  Thamyris  ?  She 
stood  still,  with  her  eyes  fixed  upon  Paul ;  and  finding 
she  made  no  reply,  Theoclia  her  mother  cried  out,  say- 
ing. Let  the  unjust  creature  be  burnt ;  let  her  be  burnt 
in  the  midst  of  the  theatre,  for  refusing  Thamyris,  that 
all  women  may  learn  from  her  to  avoid  such  practices. 
Then  the  governor  was  exceedingly  concerned,  and 
ordered  Paul  to  be  whipped  out  of  the  city,  and  Thecla 
to  be  burnt.  So  the  governor  arose,  and  went  imme- 
diately into  the  theatre ;  and  all  the  people  went  forth 
to  see  the  dismal  sight.  But  Thecla,  just  as  a  lamb  in 
the  wilderness  looks  every  way  to  see  his  shepherd, 
looked  around  for  Paul ;  and  as  she  was  looking  upon 
the  multitude,  she  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  likeness 
of  Paul,  and  said  to  herself,  Paul  is  come  to  see  me  in 
my  distressed  circumstances.  And  she  fixed  her  eyes 
upon  him ;  but  he  instantly  ascended  up  to  heaven, 
while  she  looked  on  him.  Then  the  young  men  and 
women  brought  wood  and  straw  for  the  burning  of 
Thecla ;  who  being  brought  naked  to  the  stake,  ex- 
torted tears  from  the  governor,  with  surprise,  at  behold- 
ing the  greatness  of  her  beauty.  And  when  they  had 
placed  the  wood  in  order,  the  people  commanded  her 
to  go  upon  it ;  which  she  did,  first  making  the  sign  of 
the  cross.  Then  the  people  set  fire  to  the  pile ;  though 
the  flame  was  exceeding  large,  it  did  not  touch  her ; 
for  God  took  compassion  on  her,  and  caused  a  great 
eruption  from  the  earth  beneath,  and  a  cloud  from 
above  to  pour  down  great  quantities  of  rain  and  hail, 
insomuch  that  by  the  rupture  of  the  earth,  very  many 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   ACTS.  327 

were  in  great  danger,  and  some  were  killed,  the  fire 
was  extinguished,  and  Thecla  preserved. 

ACTS  OF  ANDREW  AND  MATTHIAS  IN  THE  CITY  OF  THE 

CANNIBALS. 

In  some  authorities  the  latter  apostle  is  Matthew  in- 
stead of  Matthias,  though  the  above  title  is  the  usual 
one.  With  some  the  city  of  the  cannibals  is  Sinope, 
in  Pontus  of  the  Scythians,  while  others  suppose  it  to 
be  Myrmene  in  Ethiopia.  The  book  is  ancient,  but 
not  so  old  as  the  preceding ;  and  it  exists  in  the  man- 
uscript and  other  authorities  with  very  considerable 
variations.  The  two  oldest  manuscripts  used  by  Tisch- 
endorf,  are  in  Paris,  and  of  the  11th  and  the  15th 
century.  There  are  also  a  few  fragments  in  Paris  in 
the  uncial  letters,  which  Tischendorf  and  Thilo  judge 
to  be  as  early  as  the  8th  century. 

The  following  brief  analysis  of  the  story  will  give 
the  reader  a  correct  idea  of  the  book,  and  enable  him 
to  make  an  intelligible  comparison  between  it  and  the 
Acts  in  the  New  Testament. 

The  twelve  apostles  were  gathered  together  and  as- 
signed their  different  missionary  fields  by  lot,  and  it 
fell  to  Matthias  to  go  to  the  country  of  the  cannibals. 
Instead  of  bread  and  water,  the  cannibals  ate  the  flesh 
and  drank  the  blood  of  strangers  who  visited  their 
coast.  They  put  out  the  eyes  of  these  unhappy  wan- 
derers and  gave  them  a  bewitching  draught,  which 
deprived  them  of  their  reason,  so  that  they  wandered 
about  eating  hay  and  grass  like  cattle.  Immediately 
on  the  arrival  of  the  man  of  God,  they  put  him  in 
chains,  destroyed  his  eyes,  and  gave  him  the  bewitch- 


328  THE    BOOKS   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

ing  drink.  But  he  retained  his  reason  and  contiv,ued 
to  praise  the  Lord.  At  night,  in  prison,  he  shed  bit- 
ter tears  and  offered  earnest  prayers  to  God.  Sudden- 
ly the  prison  was  illuminated  and  a  heavenly  voice 
assured  him  that  he  would  soon  be  delivered  from  his 
distress  by  Andrew,  who  would  shortly  visit  his  prison. 
Every  thirty  days  the  heathen  held  a  solemn  assembly 
in  which  they  designated  the  prisoner  who  in  his 
turn  would  be  served  as  a  meal  at  their  public  table. 
Matthias  awaited  with  patience  his  approaching  doom. 
Meanwhile  Andrew,  who  was  preaching  in  Achaia, 
received  from  heaven  a  command  that  he  should  in 
three  days  go  to  the  city  of  the  cannibals,  where  his 
brother  and  companion  was  in  danger.  At  first  he 
hesitated,  it  was  a  great  distance  and  he  did  not  know 
the  way ;  but  God  commanded  him  to  hasten  to  the 
sea-shore  early  the  next  morning.  When  Andrew  and 
his  companions  reached  the  shore  at  the  appointed 
time,  he  saw  a  skiff  approaching  manned  with  three 
sailors.  These  were  Jesus  the  Almighty  God,  and  two  of 
his  angels,  all  disguised  in  human  form  like  common 
men,  and  Andrew,  not  knowing  them,  asked  for  a 
passage.  At  first  the  boat-master  declined  unless  he 
was  paid  the  passage  money ;  but  when  Andrew  as- 
sured him  that  he  had  neither  .money  nor  goods,  but 
was  an  apostle  of  the  blessed  Saviour,  and  was  travel- 
liner  under  his  Master's  directions,  he  and  his  associates 
were  received  into  the  boat.  Andrew  admired  the 
youthful  beauty  and  handiness  of  the  boat-master,  who 
directed  his  angels  to  refresh  the  poor  pilgrims  with 
food.  A  severe  storm  arose,  and  the  companions  of 
Andrew  were  afraid.     The  boat-master  offered  to  set 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    ACTS.  329 

them  ashore,  but  they  were  ashamed  to  seek  their  own 
safety  and  leave  the  apostle.     Andrew  comforted  them 
and  reminded  them  that  the  blessed  Savior  had  once 
suddenly   stilled  a  like  violent  tempest.      They  fell 
asleep,   the  waves  were  calmed,  and  Andrew  entered 
into   edifying  conversation  with  the  heavenly  boat- 
master.     He  asked  of  the  apostle  an  accurate  narrative 
of  the  deeds  and  miracles  of  the  Saviour.     Andrew  re- 
lated how  that  Christ,  when  teased  by  the  unbelieving 
multitude  for  a  miracle,  commanded  the  statues  of  the 
Cherubim  and   Seraphim,   which  were  fixed  on  the 
walls  of  the  temple,  to  come  down  and  go  to  Mamre, 
and  there  call  the  three  great  patriarchs  from  their 
graves ;  and  thus  he  gave  them  an  irresistible  proof  of 
his   divine   power.      In  such   conversation  the    time 
passed ;  and  at  length  Andrew,   overcome  with  weari- 
ness, fell  asleep.     In  this  condition  God  directed  his 
angels  to  bear  him  safely  to  the  shore,  where  on  awak- 
ing the  next  morning  he  found  himself  in  sight  of  the 
prison  of  Matthias.     His  associates  were  also  asleep 
beside  him,  whom  he  aroused  and  informed  them  that 
the  man  with  whom  they  had  sailed  the  day  before, 
could  have  been  none  other  than  the  Supreme  Being, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Indeed,  they  answered,  while 
we  were  asleep,  eagles*  came  and  took  our  souls  and 
bore  them  through  the  air  to  heaven ;  and  there  we 
heard  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  with  a  thou- 
sand voices,  praising  the  Lord  God,  and  we  saw  the 
twelve  apostles  standing  before  the  Son  of  God,  and 
the  angels  ministering  to  them. 

Delighted  with  this  vision,  Andrew  offered  thanks- 
giving to  God,  and  besought  pardon  of  the   Creator, 


330  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

for  all  liG  had  said  the  day  before,  without  recognizing 
the  Almighty  on  board  the  boat.  Then  God  again 
made  himself  visible  and  spake  peace  to  him,  and  said, 
Thou  wert  guilty  of  a  greater  sin  in  Achaia,  when  thou 
didst  despond  on  account  of  the  long  distance  and 
the  voyage  by  sea,  for  all  things  are  possible  with  God. 
But  go  up  to  the  prison  and  deliver  thy  brother  and  his 
fellow  prisoners.  Then  thy  sorrows  will  begin,  but 
endure  them  steadfastly,  and  remember  the  torments 
which  I  suffered  on  the  cross.  Invisibly  then,  for  the 
hand  of  God  covered  his  steps,  Andrew  came  up  to 
the  prison.  Seven  sentries  stood  before  the  door,  and 
they  suddenly  fell  dead.  The  door  of  itself  sprang 
open,  the  heathen  were  in  a  drunken  sleep,  and  Mat- 
thias sat  alone  in  the  murderer's  den.  The  apostles 
recognized  and  embraced  and  kissed  each  other,  and 
then  knelt  down  and  prayed.  Matthias  now  without 
delay  proposed  to  leave  the  prison,  he  and  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  others,  whose  way  God  concealed  by  a 
cloud,  so  that  no  swift  messenger  of  the  enemy  could 
overtake  them.  Andrew  attended  them,  and  then 
cheerfully  returned  to  the  city  and  sat  down  by  a  bra- 
zen pillar  to  await  what  might  happen. 

Meanwhile  the  time  of  the  heathen  festival  ap- 
proached, and  the  heathen  designed  to  bring  out  one 
of  the  prisoners  and  devote  him  to  death.  But  they 
were  disappointed.  They  found  the  prison  open  and 
the  sentries  dead.  The  frightful  tidings  spread,  and 
hunger  and  terror  took  possession  of  the  multitude.  All 
the  citizens  were  called  together  and  lots  cast  to  de- 
termine who  should  be  slain,  that  his  body  might  af- 
ford food  for  the  rest.     The  lot  fell  upon  a  respectable 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   ACTS.  331 

old  man,  whom  they  immediately  bound.  Lamenting 
he  offered  them  his  young  son  instead,  whom  the  hun- 
gry multitude  gladly  accepted.  Now  the  youth  being 
fettered,  raised  a  bitter  cry,  and  Andrew,  who  saw  all 
from  his  pillar,  was  inwardly  moved  by  it.  He  prayed 
to  God  for  the  innocent  one,  and  was  heard,  for  the 
weapons  which  they  directed  against  the  boy  melted 
like  wax.  The  boy  was  set  free,  but  raging  hunger 
again  began  to  be  felt  among  the  people. 

Now  the  Devil,  black  and  hateful,  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  miserable  man,  and  betrayed  the  presence 
of  the  saint,  who  had  caused  the  prisoners  to  escape, 
that  against  him  all  the  wrath  of  the  people  might  be 
turned.  Andrew  ridiculed  the  fiend,  who  only  inflam- 
ed the  people  the  more.  A  divine  voice  directed  the 
apostle  to  come  out  from  behind  the  pillar  and  show 
himself  to  the  people.  His  hands  were  now  bound 
and  the  multitude  dragged  him  through  the  streets 
and  over  stones  and  rocks  all  day  till  evening ;  his 
body  was  torn  and  trickled  with  blood,  but  his  soul 
was  steadfast  and  believing.  Andrew  spent  the  night 
in  prison ;  but  early  in  the  morning  he  is  again  beset, 
and  his  tortures  commence  anew.  The  cries  of  the 
sufferer  ascend  to  heaven ;  the  Devil  excites  the  multi- 
tude more  and  more ;  in  the  evening  he  comes  with 
six  others  to  insult  Andrew,  but  is  driven  off  by  the 
sign  of  the  cross. 

On  the  third  morning  the  tortures  are  again  renew- 
ed, and  are  continued  through  the  day.  Andrew 
prays  and  longs  for  death,  his  blood  is  spread  over  the 
ground,  his  hairs  are  scattered  along  the  way.  The 
heavenly  King  directs  him  to  look  back,  and  he  sees 


332  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

blossoming  trees  growing  up  in  the  places  where  the 
drops  of  blood  had  fallen  ;  and  when  the  enemies  had 
for  the  fourth  time  brought  the  saint  back  to  his  prison, 
God  drew  near  and  greeted  him  and  gave  strength 
and  soundness  to  his  wounded  body  as  at  the  begin- 
ning. 

Now  he  noticed  by  the  wall  two  large  weather- 
stained  stone  pillars,  and  one  of  them  he  thus  ad- 
dressed :  It  is  the  will  of  God,  the  Almighty,  that 
streams  should  pour  forth  from  thee  among  the  heathen 
people.  Thou  art  resplendent  with  gold,  and  in  an- 
cient times  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  write  on  thee  his 
ten  commandments ;  but  to-day  there  is  reserved  for 
thee  a  still  greater  honor,  for  thou  shalt  proclaim  the 
counsel  of  God.  Scarcely  had  the  saint  uttered  these 
words,  when  the  stone  was  rent,  and  endless  floods  of 
water  were  poured  forth  from  it,  which  increased  to  a 
mighty  river.  Many  children  were  drowned  and  the 
men  tried  to  flee  to  the  mountains ;  but  an  angel  with 
a  flaming  sword  stopped  the  way,  the  waves  increased, 
the  wilderness  howled,  and  fire-brands  flew  about. 
There  was  a  universal  yell  of  grief  and  terror ;  and  at 
length  one  cried  aloud.  You  see  now  for  yourselves 
that  Ave  have  laid  the  innocent  stranger  in  chains; 
therefore  a  frightful  punishment  awaits  us ;  hurry,  let 
us  unchain  him  and  beg  of  him  for  help.  They  has- 
tened to  unbind  him,  but  the  water  still  increased,  and 
the  flood  became  so  great  that  it  reached  to  the  neck 
and  shoulders  of  the  men.  But  Andrew  addressed 
the  water-flood,  and  the  heavens  became  fair,  and  the 
earth  opened  its  mouth  and  drank  in  the  waters. 
Fourteen  of  the  worst  men  were  drawn  into  the  abyss 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     ACTS.  333 

and  disappeared  from  the  earth.  All  the  people  trem- 
bled for  fear  and*  acknowledged  that  God  had  sent  this 
holy  man.  Andrew  warned  and  exhorted,  and  uttered 
a  prayer  for  the  souls  of  the  children  who  had  found 
death  in  the  flood.  The  prayer  was  acceptable  to  the 
Most  High.  He  ordered  that  they  should  rise  from 
the  dead;  and  as  soon  as  they  had  returned  to  life 
they  were  baptized  and  received  under  the  divine  pro- 
tection. In  the  place  where  the  flood  sprung  up  and 
baptism  was  administered,  Andrew  caused  a  church  to 
be  built ;  and  from  all  places  men  and  women  were 
assembled  and  were  baptized  and  renounced  the  service 
of  the  Devil  and  the  heathen  altars.  Afterwards  An- 
drew appointed  a  pious  bishop  over  them  by  the  name 
of  Plato,  and  longed  himself  to  leave  the  country  and 
go  over  the  sea.  All  were  grieved  that  he  would  de- 
depart  from  them  so  soon,  and  a  voice  from  heaven 
warned  him  that  he  should  remain  yet  seven  days 
longer  with  his  new  flock  and  confirm  their  faith.  So 
long  did  he  teach  and  strengthen  them,  to  the  disgust 
of  the  Devil,  who  saw  all  these  people  delivered  from 
hell.  At  the  expiration  of  the  appointed  time,  An- 
drew prepared  himself  for  his  journey,  the  people 
accompanied  him  with  sadness  to  the  shore,  looked 
after  the  ship  so  long  as  their  eyes  could  follow  it,  and 
praised  the  eternal  God. 

The  above  extract  is  modeled  on  the  argument  to 
an  old  Anglo-Saxon  poem  published  by  J.  Grimm, 
which  gives  a  very  good  general  idea  of  the  book. 
The  book  itself  is  quite  too  long  to  be  inserted  here, 
and  in  this  case  an  abstract  is  better  than  extracts. 
In  this  poem  it  is  throughout  Matthew  who  wrote  the 
Gospel,  that  is  the  associate  of  Andrew. 


334  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Here  we  have  a  fair  example  of  the  best  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  out  of  the  New  Testament.  Is 
not  the  diiference  quite  as  great  and  of  the  same  kind 
as  that  which  we  have  already  shown  to  exist  between 
the  apocryphal  gospels  and  the  canonical  ?  Would  it 
not  be  an  insult  to  the  common  sense  of  the  reader 
even  to  propose  to  him  the  question  seriously  whether 
the  two  classes  of  books  could  have  proceeded  from 
the  same  source  ?  The  apocryphal  Acts  were  among 
the  best  products  of  the  human  mind  of  that  period 
and  among  the  people  who  were  nominally  Christian, 
and  the  canonical  Acts,  as  the  contrast  shows,  must 
have  been  from  the  divine  and  not  the  human  mind. 


CHAPTER    TENTH. 

THE   FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF   PAUL. 

The  following  is  the  chronological  order  in  which 
the  epistles  of  Paul  were  written :  Thessalonians  I.  and 
II.,  Galatians,  Corinthians  I.  and  II.,  Romans,  Ephe- 
sians,  Colossians,  Philemon,  Philippians,  Hebrews,  I. 
Timothy,  Titus,  II.  Timothy. 

As  this  book  is  written  for  those  who  use  the  com- 
mon editions  of  the  Greek  Testament,  and  the  com- 
mon translations,  it  will  be  more  convenient  for  the 
reader  that  we  follow  the  usual  arrangement. 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    ROMANS. 

That  this  epistle  is  a  genuine  production  of  the 
apostle  Paul,  is  susceptible  of  the  most  satisfactory 
proof,  and  the  fact  has  seldom  been  seriously  called  in 
question.  The  objections  of  the  Englishman  Evanson, 
published  about  a  century  since,  never  made  much  im- 
pression and  they  have  been  abundantly  refuted.  The 
testimony  of  the  early  Christian  writers  is  full  and 
unanimous.  We  have  direct  testimony  from  Irenaeus 
(adv.  Haer.  III.  xvi.  3),  Tertullian  (de  Cor.  Mil.  c.  6, 
adv.  Prax.  c.  13),  Clemens  Alex.  (Paed.  i.  p.  117, 
Strom,  iii.  457),  Origen,  who  wrote  a  commentary  on 
this  epistle,  etc.,  etc.     The  indirect  testimony  also  of 


336  THE    BOOKS    of    the    bible. 

quotations  and  allusions  is  equally  copious  and  reliable, 
c.  g.  Clemens  Rom.  (Ep.  i.  ad  Cor.  ii.  35),  Polycarp 
{ad  Phil.  c.  6),  Theophilus  of  Antioch  (ad  Autol.  ii. 
p.  99  ;  iii.  p.  18),  the  letter  of  the  churches  of  Vienne 
and  Lyons,  quoted  by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  v.  1),  and  many 
others.  (Compare  Guericke,  New  Test.  Isagog.  p. 
329-30.)  The  internal  evidence  is  no  less  clear  and 
explicit.     See  Paley's  Horge  Paulinee  chap,  i.,  ii. 

But  why  did  the  apostle  write  to  the  Romans  in  the 
Greek  language?  Why  did  he  not  write  in  Latin ? 
The  members  of  the  church  at  Rome  were  not  exclu- 
sively or  principally  natives  of  Rome  or  even  of  Italy. 
The  population  of  Rome  at  that  time  was  composed 
of  persons  from  every  part  of  the  Roman  empire,  from 
every  nation  under  heaven,  and  with  them  Greek  was 
the  common  language  of  social  intercourse,  business  and 
literature.  The  native  Romans  themselves  neglected 
their  own  language  and  used  Greek.  Tacitus  de  Or. 
c.  29  ;  Martial,  Epig.  xiv.  56  ;  Juvenal,  Lat.  vi.  184-9. 

Authors,  Christian,  Jewish  and  Pagan,  living  at 
Rome,  composed  their  works  in  Greek,  as  Clement, 
Justin  Martyr,  Josephus,  Plutarch,  Epictetus,  the  em- 
peror Marcus  Aurelius  (see  Tholuck  and  Alford  on 
Romans)  ;  and  among  the  common  people,  with  whom 
the  Christians  would  generally  be  found,  the  predomi- 
nant language  was  Greek.     Juvenal,  Sat.  iii.  60-80. 

If  Paul  then  wished  to  be  understood  by  the  great 
body  of  the  church  members  at  Rome,  it  was  necessa- 
ry that  he  should  write  in  Greek  rather  than  Latin, 

The  epistle  was  written  at  Corinth,  probably  during 
the  winter  of  A.  D.  57-58.     Paul  had  then  been  a 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.       337 

preacher  of  the  Gospel  twenty-eight  years.  A  part 
of  the  summer  A.  D.  57  he  had  spent  in  Ephesus,  the 
remainder  of  the  summer  and  the  autumn  in  Macedo- 
nia ;  and  he  was  passing  the  three  winter  months  at 
Corinth,  whence  he  was  about  to  make  a  journey  to 
Jerusalem,  with  the  contributions  to  the  saints,  in  the 
spring.     Acts  xx.  2,  3 ;   1  Cor.  xv.  25,  xvi.  6. 

Phcebe,  a  deaconess  of  the  church  at  Cenchrea,  the 
eastern  seaport  of  Corinth,  had  occasion  to  go  to  Rome 
on  business,  and  the  apostle  took  the  opportunity  to 
send  a  letter  by  her  to  the  important  church  there, 
though  he  had  himself  then  never  visited  that  city. 
Compare  Acts  xix.  21,  xx.  1,  2,  6 ;  Rom.  xv.  24,  28, 
xiv.  1,  21,  23 ;  1  Cor.  i.  14.  Among  the  members 
of  the  church  at  Rome  were  some  of  Paul's  relatives 
(Rom.  xvi.  7),  and  some  of  his  intimate  friends,  with 
whom  he  had  been  acquainted  before  their  residence 
in  Rome.  He  speaks  of  Rufus  in  particular,  and 
sends  salutation  to  the  mother  of  Rufus  as  his  own 
mother  (Rom.  xvi.  13).  Was  this  Rufus  the  son  of 
Simon  the  Cyrenian  (Mark  xv.  21),  who  bore  the  cross 
of  Jesus?  And  was  Paul  an  inmate  of  that  family 
while  he  studied  at  Jerusalem  ? 

Among  the  persons  converted  at  Jerusalem  during 
the  first  pentecost  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  are  men- 
tioned sojourning  Romans  (Acts  ii.  10),  and  among 
the  distinguished  teachers  of  that  church,  Paul  men- 
tions some  of  his  own  kinsmen  (Rom.  xvi.  7)  who 
were  Christians  before  he  was.  It  is  probable,  then, 
that  the  first  foundations  of  the  Roman  church  were 
laid  by  Jewish  Christians  who  had  been  converted  by 
the  preaching  of  Peter.     The  statements  in  the  book 


338  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  Acts  make  it  impossible  for  us  to  believe  that  either 
Paul  or  Peter  were  at  Rome  during  the  early  period 
of  the  existence  of  that  church.  We  may,  how- 
ever, without  hesitation  admit  the  historical  fact  that 
they  were  both  there  during  the  latter  part  of  their 
lives,  though  probably  their  stay  was  but  brief,  Paul's 
first  visit  being  about  two  years,  and  his  second  a  much 
shorter  time,  and  Peter's  whole  stay  scarcely  exceed- 
ing one  year.  It  is  not  likely  that  either  apostle  ever 
held  any  ofiicial  connection  with  that  particular  church 
(Alford,  Proleg.  to  Rom.  sec.  2).  Paul's  own  state- 
ments show  that  he  had  not  been  at  Rome  when  he 
wrote  this  epistle  (Rom.  i.  10,  13,  15,  xv.  23),  and  we 
have  the  testimony  of  Origen  that  Peter  did  not  come 
to  Rome  till  quite  the  latter  part  of  his  life  (Euseb.  E. 
H.  iii.  1),  and  there  is  no  testimony  in  the  Bible  or  in 
Christian  antiquity  to  the  contrary  effect  in  regard  to 
either.  All  the  probabilities  are  decidedly  in  favor 
of  the  conclusion  above  stated. 

It  is  obvious  enough  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  and  perfectly  certain  from  the  contents  of  the 
epistle,  that  the  church  at  Rome  was  made  up  of  both 
Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians.  Chap.  ii.  17,  iii.  19,  iv. 
1,  12,  vii.  1-4,  ix,  xi,  plainly  have  reference  to  Jews; 
while  i.  16-32,  vi.  17,  ix.  24,  30,  xi.  13-25,  28,  30,  xiv. 
1,  XV.  14,  as  plainly  refer  to  Gentiles.  Perhaps  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  come  to  any  certain  conclusion 
as  to  the  relative  strength  of  these  two  component 
parts  of  the  church ;  yet  from  some  passages,  as  i.  5, 
6,  13,  XV.  16,  we  might  infer  that  the  Gentile  part 
was  the  more  powerful  and  influential. 

The  epistle,  unlike  the  others  we  have  from  Paul, 


THE     FOURTEEN     EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.       339 

except  that  to  the  Ephesians,  was  not  called  forth  by 
any  particular  exigency  in  the  church,  nor  is  it  de- 
signed to  meet  any  peculiar  circumstances.  On  this 
account  its  discussions  stand  on  a  broader  basis  and  its 
topics  are  of  a  more  general  character,  than  those  of 
the  other  epistles,  with  the  exception  already  men- 
tioned. In  consequence  of  this  general  dogmatic 
character  of  the  book,  it  occupies  the  first  place  in 
almost  all  manuscripts  and  printed  editions  of  the 
epistles,  though  not  by  any  means  the  first  written  in 
the  order  of  time ;  the  two  to  the  Thessalonians,  that 
to  the  Galatians,  and  the  two  to  the  Corinthians, 
having  all  preceded  it,  making  the  Romans  the  sixth 
instead  of  the  first.  The  epistles  would  be  much  bet- 
ter understood  if  read  in  the  order  in  which  they  were 
written,  as  they  are  arranged  by  Connybeare  and 
Howson,  and  by  Wordsworth,  than  as  they  stand  in  the 
common  editions  of  the  Testament. 

It  is  the  general  object  of  the  epistle  to  point  out 
to  both  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  the  peculiar  mis- 
takes to  which  they  were  each  liable,  in  consequence 
of  prejudices  of  education,  position  and  habits,  and  to 
lay  open  before  them  the  true  theory  and  practice  of 
the  Christian  religion.  After  a  general  introduction, 
i.  1-15,  he  makes  a  statement  of  his  subject,  namely, 
that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  to  sal- 
vation for  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  that  entirely 
through  the  justification  and  righteousness  which  is  by 
faith  (i.  16,  17).  That  such  a  method  of  salvation  is 
needed  by  the  Gentiles  is  plain  from  their  well  known 
and  enormous  wickedness  (i.  18-42.)  That  the  Jews 
also  equally  need  the  same  method  of  salvation  j^  pkin. 


340  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

because,  though  they  have  higher  knowledge  and  bet- 
ter principles  than  the  Gentiles,  their  character  is 
equally  bad  if  not  worse  ;  and  God  judges  of  men  ex- 
actly by  what  they  are  and  what  they  do;  and  not  by 
what  they  have  and  what  they  profess,  ii :  1-29.  He 
then  answers  some  objections  to  this  statement,  which 
might  arise  in  the  Jewish  mind  in  consequence  of  the 
covenant  relation  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  God,  and 
the  promises  made  to  the  fathers,  iii :  1-20.  He  then 
sets  forth  the  nature  of  that  justification  by  faith, 
which  is  the  basis  of  his  instructions,  iii:  21—31.  He 
next  insists  that  this  method  of  justification  is  not  new 
or  peculiar  to  the  Gospel,  that  Abraham  himself  was 
justified  by  faith,  iv :  1-4,  that  David  also  distinctly 
recognizes  the  doctrine,  iv :  6-8,  that  Abraham  re- 
ceived justification  by  faith  before  he  was  circumcised 
iv:  9-12,  and  before  the  law  was  given  iv:  13-15, 
therefore  the  Jews  who  have  both  circumcision  and  the 
law,  cannot  be  justified  unless  they  have  Abraham's 
faith  also,  and  the  Gentiles,  who  have  neither  circum- 
cision nor  the  law,  may  be  justified  without  either  if 
they  but  have  the  faith  of  Abraham,  iv :  16,  17,  and 
then  follows  an  exhibition  of  the  nature  and  strength 
of  Abraham's  faith,  iv:  18,  22,  and  an  application  of 
the  whole  to  the  subject  in  hand,  iv :  23-25.  Next 
the  advantages  of  this  justification  by  faith,  peace  with 
God  and  confidence  in  his  love,  v :  1-1 1 ;  and  a  con- 
trast between  what  we  have  lost  by  Adam  and  what 
we  may  gain  by  Christ,  showing  the  latter  to  be  im- 
measurably the  greater,  v:  12-21. 

Thus  far  the  subject  oi  justification^ — now  comes 
that  of  sanctification.      This  doctrine  of  justification 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  341 

does  not  give  license  to  sin,  for  1st  the  very  nature  of 
our  relation  to  Christ  forbids  us  to  sin,  vi :  1,  14  ;  2d, 
the  different  wages  of  the  two  services,  sin  and  righ- 
teousness^ should  bring  us  entirely  into  the  service  of 
the  latter,  vi :  15,  23  ;  and  3d,  being  now  dead  to  the 
law  and  united  to  Christ,  instead  of  our  old  ineffectual 
struggle  against  sin,  we  have  in  Christ  an  inward  prin- 
ciple of  love  which  leads  to  a  willing  obedience,  vii : 
1,  6.  Further  to  illustrate  the  same  topic,  he  takes 
the  most  favorable  case  which  can  possibly  arise  under 
the  law,  that  of  a  man  approving  and  loving  the  law 
and  sincerely  desiring  to  become  holy  by  it,  but  with- 
out Christ  living  in  a  fruitless  struggle  and  baffled  in 
every  endeavor,  vii :  7-25.  In  Christ  and  Christ  alone 
sin  is  overcome  and  sanctification  attained,  viii:  1-17. 
So  far  then  from  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
giving  license  to  sin,  it  is  the  only  principle  which  can 
possibly  lead  men  to  holiness.  There  is  the  lawless 
state  of  men,  vii:  9  ;  the  legal  state,  vii:  5,  vii:  7-25, 
and  the  glorious  spiritual  state,  vii:  6,  viii:  1-17,  and 
this  last  is  obtained  by  the  Gospel  and  the  Gospel 
only ;  and  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Gospel  is 
justification  by  faith  alone,  apart  from  the  deeds  of  the 
law,  iii :   20,  28. 

The  glorious  consummation  of  the  completed  work 
of  redemption,  extending  as  widely  as  the  ruins  of  the 
fixll  have  extended,  is  then  described,  viii:  18-39. 
But  if  the  preceding  be  true,  many  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Abraham  fall  out  of  their  covenant  relations 
with  God.  He  admits  it  ix :  1-5,  but  affirms  that  this 
is  nothing  new,  ix :  6,  7,  the  same  has  happened  often 
before  as  he  shows  in  the  case  of  Ishmael  ix :  8,  9,  and 


342  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Esauix:  10,13.  God  confers  special  favors,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  sovereign  will,  as  he  shows  in  the  case 
of  Moses  ix:  14-16,  and  chooses  his  own  time  and 
manner  of  punishing  transgressors,  as  he  shows  in  the 
case  of  Pharaoh  ix :  17;  in  all  such  matters  he  acts 
entirely  as  a  sovereign,  and  with  entire  justice  and 
mercy  ix:  18-24;  and  moreover  the  ancient  Hebrew 
prophets  had  themselves  expressly  predicted  that  the 
time  would  come  when  many  Gentiles  and  compara- 
tively few  Jews  would  be  in  covenant  relation  with 
God,  ix;  25-33.  The  cause  of  all  this  is  entirely  the 
unbelief  of  the  Jews  and  nothing  else,  x:  1-13,  and 
their  inexcusable  unbelief,  for  they  had  had  abundant 
opportunity  both  to  hear  and  accept  the  Gospel,  x : 
14-18,  as  Moses  and  Isaiah  had  before  announced 
would  be  the  case,- x:  19-21.  But  the  time  would 
come  when  Israel  would  repent  and  be  restored  to  all 
his  covenant  privileges,  xi :  1-1 6  ;  the  Gentiles,  there- 
fore, were  not  to  boast,  or  despise  the  Jews,  but  to  be 
humble  and  loving,xi :  17-32  ;  and  then  he  breaks  forth 
into  a  rapturous  strain  of  praise  to  God  for  his  marvel- 
lous wisdom  and  goodness,  xi:  33-36.  Thus  closes 
the  dogmatic  part  of  this  most  wonderful  epistle,  and 
then  follows  the  practical  or  hortatory  part,  xii. — xv. 
and  the  eminently  social  and  sociable  conclusion,  xvi. 

STYLE    OF    THE    EPISTLE. 

The  style  of  Paul  is  altogether  peculiar.  Nothing 
like  it,  I  believe,  can  be  found  out  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  is  the  style  of  a  Jewish  Rabbi  rather  than 
of  a  classical  Greek  writer ;  but  of  a  Rabbi  of  a  very 
peculiar  cast  of  character.     His  style  is  the   natural 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         343 

outgrowth  of  these  elements,  to  wit,  the  firey  impetu- 
osity of  his  owu  nature,  his  thorough  and  strictly 
Jewish  education,  and  the  characteristic  pecularities  of 
the  Christian  theology  which  he  inculcated.  All  the 
characteristics  of  his  style  culminate  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans.  He  cannot  be  called  a  perspicuous  writer, 
but  he  is  never  equivocal.  He  is  either  understood  or 
not  understood — seldom,  by  the  careful  student,  who 
analyses  his  own  thoughts,  misunderstood.  He  abounds 
in  imperfect  parentheses,  that  is,  sentences  which  in- 
terupt  the  flow  of  thought,  and  yet  are  so  essential  to 
the  subsequent  argument  that  they  cannot  be  omitted; 
and  he  is  full  of  those  rhetorical  irregularities  which 
the  Greeks  designate  by  the  hard  names  of  anantopod- 
oton  and  anaJcolouthon.  He  frequently  uses  an  imper- 
fect kind  of  antithesis,  a  sort  of  philological  equation, 
of  which  the  two  sides  are  not  always  by  any  means 
equal  as  they  stand,  and  the  equalizing  must  be  made 
by  the  reader,  guided  by  the  purpose  and  context  of 
the  sentences.  He  so  isolates  himself  in  a  particular 
topic  on  hand,  that  often  he  states  universally  that 
which  is  true  only  with  limitations ;  and  he  uses  prep- 
ositions with  great  profuseness  and  a  wide  latitude. 
His  mind  had  been  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
forms  of  Hebrew  thought,  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  language  is  almost  as  essential  to  the  intelli- 
gent study  of  his  writings,  as  a  knowledge  of  the 
Greek.  He  darts  with  inconceivable  rapidity  from 
thought  to  thought,  so  that  one  must  be  assiduously 
on  the  watch  to  keep  him  in  sight.  He  gives  himself 
no  time  to  express  one  thought  fully,  before  he  hur- 
ries on  to  another;  and  multitudes  of  ideas  are  strug- 


344  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 

gling  in  his  soul  for  a  simultaneous  utterance.  Yet  his 
sentences  can  be  disintegrated  and  his  meaning  ascer- 
tained— and  when  once  he  is  fairly  unravelled,  his 
thought  comes  out,  not  only  with  perfect  explicitness, 
but  with  warmth  the  most  genial  and  eloquence  un- 
surpassed. No  study  can  be  more  profitable  as  a  dis- 
ciplinary exercise,  whether  mental,  ethical,  or  religious, 
than  the  writings  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

The  witnesses  for  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  are 
Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Justin  Martyr, 
Letter  to  Diognetus,  Churches  of  Yienne  and  Lyons, 
Irenaeus,  Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  Tetullian,  Origin,  Eusebius,  Jerome,  Au- 
gustin. 

Clement  of  Rome.  Hateful  to  God,  not  only  those 
who  do  these  things,  but  those  who  have  pleasure  in 
them,  i:  23. 

Ignatius.  '  Of  the  race  of  David  according  to  the 
flesh,  son  of  man  and  son  of  God,'  i:  9. 

Polycarp.  '  We  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment 
seat  of  Christ,  and  each  give  account  of  himself  xiv :  10. 

Justin  Martyr.  '  For  all  have  gone  out  of  the  way, 
he  cries  out,  they  have  together  become  corrupt,'  etc., 
iii:   11-17. 

Irenaeus.  '  The  Apostle  Paul  writing  to  the  Romans, 
Paul  au  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  set  apart  for  the  Gos- 
pel of  God,'  etc.,  i :  1. 

Again  writing  to  the  Romans  concerning  Israel,  he 
says,  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom  as  to  the 
flesh  Christ  came,'  etc.,  ix:  5. 

Tlieopliilus.  'By  patient  continuance  in  well  doing 
seek  for  glory,  honor  and  immortality,  etc.,  ii:  6-9. 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  345 

And  he  teaches  to  render  all  things  to  all,  honor  to 
whom  honor,  fear  to  whom  fear,'  etc.,  xiii:  7,  8. 

Church  of  Yienne  and  Lyons.  'They  hastened  to 
Christ,  showing  in  reality  that  the  sufferings  of  this 
time  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed  to  us.'    viii:  18. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  'Behold  says  Paul  the  good- 
ness and  severity  of  God.'  xi:  22.  'Likewise  also 
Paul  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  writes,  we  who  are 
dead  to  sin,  how  shall  we  live  any  longer  in  it  ?'  vi :  2. 

Tertullian.  '  But  I  shall  be  able  to  call  Christ  alone 
God,  as  the  same  apostle  says.  Of  whom  Christ,  who 
is  God  over  all  blessed  forever.'  ix:  4.  'Writing  to 
the  Romans,  Gentiles  by  nature  doing  the  things  which 
are  of  the  law.'  ii:  14.  'As  also  Paul  says  to  the 
Romans,  and  not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulations 
also,'  etc.  v:   3-5. 

Athenagoras.  'Why  should  I  care  for  sacrifices  and 
holocausts  of  which  God  has  no  need  ?  He  requires 
bloodless  victims  and  a  reasonable  service.'  Rom.  xii: 
1,  Legat.  p.  13. 

Theophilus.  '  Upon  them  will  come  indignation  and 
wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish.'  (Rom.  ii.  6).  ad  Au- 
tol,  p.  79. 

'Divine  wisdom  requires  that  we  should  render  to 
all  their  dues,  honor  to  whom  honor,  fear  to  whom 
fear,  tribute  to  whom  tribute  ;  and  that  we  should  owe 
no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another.'  (Rom.  xiii: 
7,  8).  ad  Autol.,  p.  126. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  'Behold  therefore,  says 
Paul,  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God ;  on  those  who 
fall  severity,  but  to  thee  goodness,  if  thou  continue  in 


346  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Ins  goodness,  that  is,  faith  toward  Christ'  (Rom.  xi: 
22).  Paed.,  p.  117. 

'Likewise  also  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans, 
writes  :  How  shall  we  who  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any 
longer 'therein  ?  Seeing  that  our  old  man  is  crucified, 
that  the  body  of  sin  may  by  destroyed,  nei- 
ther yield  ye  your  members  the  instruments  of  un- 
righteousness to  iniquity.'  (Rom.  vi:  2,  13).  Strom,  iii. 

Tetullian.  '  As  also  Paul  to  the  Romans,  saying  the 
Gentiles  by  nature  do  the  things  of  the  law.'  (Rom.  ii : 
14.    de  Coron.,  2,  6). 

'As  also  to  the  Romans  Paul  says.  And  not  only  so, 
but  we  glory  in  tribulation  also,  knowing  that  tribulu- 
lation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and 
experience  hope,  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed.' 
(Rom.  v:   3-9).   Scorpi.,  2,  13. 

EuseUus.  'The  epistles  of  Paul  are  fourteen,  all 
well  known  and  beyond  doubt.' 

'  The  same  apostle  in  the  addresses  at  the  close  of 
the  epistle  to  the  Romans  (xvi:  14),  has  among  others 
made  mention  also  of  Ilermas,'  etc. 

Athenagoras.  'Why  sacrifice  to  me,  of  which  God 
has  no  need  ?  It  is  needful  to  offer  the  bloodless  vic- 
tim, and  to  bring  forward  the  reasonahle  service.^  xii:  1, 

Tatian.  'This  God  we  know  from  his  acts,  and  ac- 
knowledge the  invisible  things  of  his  power  from  what 
he  has  made.'   i:  20. 

No  book  was  ever  better  attested  by  unimpeachable 
witnesses,  than  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  testimony  is  so  constant,  uninterrupted,  abun- 
dant and  undisputed,  that  there  scarcely  seems  a  neces- 
sity for  quoting  more. 


THE    FOURTE^EN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  347 

For  the  remaining  epistles  of  Paul,  my  principal 
guides  and  authorities  are  Guericke  and  DeWette,  the 
supernaturalist  and  the  rationalist.  These  two  appear 
to  me  to  have  written,  each  from  h  s  own  particular 
point  of  view,  the  most  accurate  and  complete  intro- 
ductions to  these  epistles,  that  have  yet  been  pub- 
lished. De  Wette  is  by  no  means  an  extreme  ration- 
alist. He  had  no  sympathy  whatever ,  with  the  ex- 
travagancies of  Strauss,  and  had  a  real  reverence  for 
the  Scriptures  and  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  was  rather 
a  favorite  author  of  the  late  Theodore  Parker,  who 
translated  into  English  and  published  his  Introduction 
to  the  Old  Testament.  Guericke  is  an  old-fashioned 
orthodox  Lutheran  of  the  most  unexceptionable  type. 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    CORINTHIANS,    FIBST    AND    SECOND. 

Paul  came  to  Corinth  on  his  second  missionary  jour- 
ney, in  the  year  53  or  54,  and  remained  there  a  year 
and  a  half  It  was  a  rich  commercial  city,  specially 
devoted  to  the  worship  of  Yenus,  corrupt  and  luxu- 
rious to  a  high  degree  even  for  a  pagan  city,  yet  dis- 
tinguished also  for  learning  and  eloquence.  The  pro- 
consul Gallio  was  quite  indifferent  to  the  movements 
of  Paul,  who  supporting  himself  by  tent-making  in  the 
establishment  of  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  zealously  preach- 
ed the  Gospel  with  much  opposition  and  disturbance, 
but  also  with  great  success.  Acts  xviii :  1-1 8.  While 
Paul  was  on  his  missionary  journey  through  Phrygia 
and  Galatia,  Apollos,  a  learned  and  eloquent  Jew  of 
Alexandria,  who  had  been  instructed  by  Priscilla  and 
Aquila  at  Ephesus,  (Acts  xviii :  24-28),  preached  with 
great  acceptance  at  Corinth;  and  at  the  same  time 


348  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Judaizing  teachers  from  Jerusalem  were  there,  who 
manifested  bitter  hostility  to  Paul  and  caused  dissen- 
sions in  the  church  (Acts  xviii.  24-28,  1  Cor.  ix.  2, 
2  Cor.  iii.  1,  V.  12,  xi.  4, 18,  22,  xii.  11).  To  these  troub- 
les were  added  painful  cases  of  immorality,  occasioned 
by  the  gross  corruptions  of  paganism  still  adhering  to 
the  recent  Christian  converts  (1  Cor.  v.  9.) 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  at  Corinth  when  Paul 
came  to  Ephesus  from  Galatia  in  the  year  56.  He  re- 
ceived information  of  the  unhappy  circumstances  by 
persons  from  the  family  of  Chloe  (1  Cor.  i,  11),  and 
also  by  others  sent  specially  to  him  by  the  Corinthians 
(1  Cor.  xvi.  17  ff).  He  accordingly  sent  Timothy  to 
them  (1  Cor.  iv.  17),  and  afterwards  this  letter,  appro- 
priate not  only  to  the  Corinthians,  but  designed  also 
(as  was  also  the  second  letter)  for  all  Christians  in  like 
circumstances  (1  Cor.  i.  2  ;  2  Cor.  i.  1).'  He  first  re- 
proves them  for  their  dissensions,  then  rebukes  their 
immoralities  and  want  of  discipline,  and  afterwards 
corrects  their  false  doctrines  especially  in  regard  to  the 
resurrection. 

From  Ephesus  Paul  passed  into  Macedonia,  learned 
something  of  the  effect  produced  by  his  first  letter 
from  Titus  (1  Cor.  ii.  12,  vii.  v.  5-10),  and  then  wrote 
his  second  letter  to  correct  and  deepen  the  impressions 
produced  by  the  first.  Both  the  letters  are  of  a 
miscellaneous  character,  not  admitting  of  the  rigid  sys- 
tematic analysis  which  can  with  so  much  advantage  be 
applied  to  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  ;  but  they  are  won- 
derfully eloquent,  full  of  the  most  tender  Christian 
feeling  and  practical  wisdom,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  the  instruction  of  Christian  churches  in  all  ages  and 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL  349 

nations,  and  especially  to  vindicate  his  own  claims  to 
the  genuine  apostleship,  which  it  would  seem  his  ene- 
mies had  called  in  question. 

We  may,  however,  give  the  following  analysis  (De 
Wette,  p.  205)  of  the  course  of  thought. 

1.  Opposition  to  the  formation  of  parties  in  the 
church  and  a  defence  of  his  own  simple  method  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  (i.-iv.).  2.  Opposition  to  the 
improper  connection  of  one  of  the  members  of  the 
church  with  his  step-mother,  and  warnings  against 
licentious  indulgence  (v.).  3.  Against  Christians  go- 
ing to  law  with  their  fellow  Christians  before  the  pagan 
courts,  and  more  warnings  against  licentiousness  (vi.). 

4.  Answer  to  the  question  respecting  celibacy  (vii.), 

5.  Instructions  as  to  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued 
by  Christians  in  regard  to  heathen  sacrifices,  and  a 
statement  of  his  own  principles  and  conduct  in  such 
matters  (viii.-xi.).  6.  Reproof  of  some  unbecoming 
practices  in  the  church  in  regard  to  the  presence  of 
females  at  worship  with  their  heads  unveiled,  and  of 
great  disorders  at  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  sup- 
per (xi.).  7.  Instructions  in  respect  to  spiritual  gifts,  and 
the  paramount  obligations  of  Christian  love  (xii.-xiv.). 

8.  The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  (xv.). 

9.  Directions  in  respect  to  almsgiving,  and  closing 
salutations  (xvi.). 

When  Paul  wrote  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians he  had  already  escaped  from  the  dangers  at 
Ephesus  (2  Cor.  i.  2 ;  Acts  xix.  23),  and  was  now  in 
Macedonia  in  company  with  Timothy  (2  Cor.  i.  I,  2,  ii. 
13,  vii.  5,  ix.  2 ;  Acts,  xx.  I) ;  and  there  could  have 
been  but  a  short  time  between  the  writing  of  the  first 


350  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     ]?IBLE. 

epistle  and  the  second.  This  second  epistle  was  prob- 
ably written  in  Macedonia  near  the  close  of  A.  D.  58, 
or  the  beginning  of  59.  It  was  occasioned  by  the 
extreme  anxiety  which  the  apostle  felt  in  regard  to 
the  effect  which  might  have  been  produced  by  his  first 
epistle  (2  Cor.  ii.  4,  vii.  5  ff).  The  influence  had  been 
for  the  most  part  good  (2  Cor.  ii.  6-11,  vii.  8-13,  ix.  2.), 
but  the  object  of  the  writer  had  not  yet  been  fully  ac- 
complished (2  Cor.  vi.  14-18,  xii,  20,  21,  xiii.  11);  his 
adversaries  had  even  taken  occasion  from  it  to  speak 
of  him  with  contempt  (2  Cor.  i.  15-17,  iii.  1,  x  9  ff), 
so  that  he  is  obliged  to  warn  them  of  severer  measures 
which  he  will  take  if  necessary.  He  also  exhorts  them 
to  make  a  collection  for  the  poor.  Titus  with  two 
brethren  is  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  collection  and 
the  delivery  of  the  epistle  (2  Cor.  viii.  G-23,  ix. 
3-5)  ;  and  the  apostle  himself  proposes  soon  to  follow 
(2  Cor.  ix.  4,  x.  11,  xiii.  1),  which  he  afterwards  did 
(Acts  XX.  2). 

The  epistle  is  naturally  divided  into  3  parts.  1.  The 
expression  of  his  anxieties  occasioned  by  the  troubles 
at  Ephesus,  and  the  intelligence  he  had  received  from 
Corinth  (i.-vii.).  2.  Directions  in  regard  to  the  col- 
lections to  be  made  for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem 
(viii.-ix.).  3.  Earnest  exhortations  and  warnings,  and 
the  necessary  vindication  of  himself  (x.-xiii.). 

The  witnesses  for  these  two  epistles  are  Clement  of 
Rome,  Hermas,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  the  church  at  Smyr- 
na, Justin  Martyr,  Letter  to  Diognetus,  Irenaeus,  Tatian, 
Athenagoras,  Theophilus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Ter- 
tullian,  Origen,  Jerome,  Augustin,  etc.  The  testimony 
is  remarkably  full  and  complete,  and  very  few  have 


THE    FOURTEEN   EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.        351 

ever  pretended  to  impeach  either  the  external  or 
the  internal  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  these 
epistles. 

Clement  of  Rome^  writing  to  the  same  Corinthians, 
says,  "  Take  the  epistle  of  the  blessed  apostle  Paul. 
Certainly  in  the  Spirit  he  sent  letters  to  you,  concern- 
ing himself  and  Cephas  and  Apollos  because  you  were 
then  at  disagreement."  1  Cor.  i.  11-13.  "Let  us  con- 
sider, beloved,  how  the  Lord  demonstrates  to  us  per- 
petually the  future  resurrection,  of  which  he  made  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  first  fruits  when  he  raised  him 
from  the  dead." 

Polycarp,  "  Know  we  not  that  the  saints  will  judge 
the  world?     So  Paul  teaches."  1  Cor.  vi.  2. 

B^enaeus.  "And  this  the  apostle  in  the  epistle  which 
is  to  the  Corinthians  most  plainly  shows,  saying,  I 
would  not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant,  brethren,  that 
all  our  fathers  were  under  the  cloud."  1  Cor.  x.  1  ff. 
"  But  what  they  say,  Paul  has  openly  said  in  the  sec- 
ond to  the  Corinthians,  in  whom  the  god  of  this  world 
hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not." 
2  Cor.  iv.  4. 

Atlienagoras.  "  This  corruptible  and  dissipated  m«st 
put  on  incorruption."  1  Cor.  xv.  54.  "Each  one  will 
receive  a  just  sentence,  according  to  what  he  hath 
done  in  the  body,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  2  Cor. 
V.  10. 

Letter  to  Diognetus.  "  The  apostle  says,  knowledge 
puiFeth  up  but  charity  edifieth."  1  Cor.  iii.  1. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "The  blessed  Paul  in  the 
first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  .  .  .  writing,  Brethren, 
be  not  children  in  understanding."  etc.   1  Cor.  xiv.  20. 


352  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"  The  apostle  said  in  the  second  to  the  Corinthians,  for 
to  this  day  the  same  veil  remains  in  the  reading  of  the 
Old  Testament."  2  Cor.  iii.  14. 

TertulUan.  "Paul  in  the  first  to  the  Corinthians 
mentions  the  deniers  and  doubters  of  the  resur- 
rection." 

The  references  are  so  full  and  explicit,  that  it  can 
not  be  deemed  necessary  to  multiply  quotations.  We 
add  a  few  which  refer  more  particularly  to  the  second 
epistle. 

Poly  carp  ^  ad  Philip,  c.  2.  "  He  that  raised  up  Jesus 
from  the  dead,  will  raise  us  up  also  if  we  do  his  will." 
2  Cor.  iv.  14,  also  ii.  6.  Providing  for  things  honest 
both  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man."  2  Cor.  iv.  14, 
also  ii.  4.  "Let  us  arm  ourselves  with  the  weapons 
of  righteousness."  2  Cor.  vi.  7. 

Clement  of  Rome.  Ep.  i.  ad  Cor.  c.  30.  "  Let  our 
praise  be  from  God  and  not  from  ourselves."  2  Cor.  x. 
17,  18,  also,  c.  5.  "Through  zeal  Paul  received  the 
reward  of  endurance,  when  he  was  many  times  in 
chains,  was  beaten,  was  stoned,"  etc.   2  Cor.  xi.  24. 

Irenaeus^  Haer,  iii.  7.  "  Paul  openly  spake  in 
the  second  to  the  Corinthians,  in  whom  the  god  of  this 
world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe 
not."  2  Cor.  iv.  4,  also  iv.  28.  "For  also  the  apostle 
says  in  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  '  For  we 
are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ,  both  in  them 
that  are  saved  and  in  them  that  perish ;  to  some  in- 
deed a  savor  of  death  unto  death,  to  some  a  savor  of 
life  unto  life.'"  2  Cor.  ii.  15,  16. 

Theojpldlus.,  ad  Autol.  iii.  "  You  suffer  fools  gladly 
when  you  are  wise."  2  Cor.  xi.  19. 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.        353 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Strom,  iv.  "  The  apostle 
speaks  of  the  savor  of  knowledge  in  the  second  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians."  2  Cor.  ii.  14. 

TertulUan.  De  Pud.  c.  13.  "They  really  suppose 
that  Paul  in  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  gives 
pardon  to  the  same  fornicator,  whom  in  his  first  epistle 
he  had  directed  to  be  delivered  to  Satan  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  flesh."  2  Cor.  ii.  6-11. 

Epistle  io  Diognetus.  ''They  are  in  the  flesh  but 
live  not  according  to  the  flesh."  "  They  are  poor,  yet 
make  many  rich."  "They  have  nothing,  yet  they 
abound  in  all  things."  "They  are  cursed  and  they 
bless."  "  They  are  spitefully  treated  and  they  honor." 
"  Doing  good,  they  are  punished  as  evil."  "  When 
they  are  punished  they  rejoice  as  those  who  are  made 
alive."  2  Cor.  x.  3-10 

EPISTLE    TO   THE    GALATIANS. 

Galatia  or  GallogrEecia  was  a  small  territory  of  Asia 
Minor,  bounded  by  Paphlagonia,  Cappadocia,  Bithynia, 
Phrygia  and  Lycaonia.  It  was  occupied  by  Celtic  or 
German  emigrants  about  the  year  250  B.  C,  and 
Jerome  informs  us  that  they  retained  in  some  measure 
their  German  speech  to  a  very  late  period.  It  was 
subjugated  by  the  Romans  in  the  year  188  B.  C,  and 
became  a  Roman  province  in  the  year  26.  There 
were  Jews  in  the  province,  especially  in  the  commer- 
cial cities,  where  they  had  enjoyed  the  special  protec- 
tion of  the  emperor  Augustus. 

Paul  was  the  founder  of  the  churches  there  (Gal.  i. 
3,  iv.  13,  19).  He  made  two  missionary  journeys 
23 


354  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

among  the  Galatians  (Acts  xvi.  6,  xviii.  23).  They 
were  a  strong,  rough,  impulsive  people,  and  the 
churches  consisted  mainly,  though  not  entirely,  of  Gen- 
tiles (Gal.  iv.  8,  V.  2,vi.  12). 

After  Paul's  departure  Judaizing  teachers  had  come 
among  the  Galatians  (Actsxv.  i.  5,  Gal.  ii.  12),  who  un- 
derrated the  character  and  laloors  of  Paul  (i.  1,  11),  dis- 
puted his  doctrine  and  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of 
circumcision  and  a  compliance  with  the  Jewish  laws 
(Gal.  V.  2  ff.  11  flf.),  so  that  the  people  were  very  much 
disturbed  and  misled  (Gal.  i.  6,  iii.  1,  iv.  9-21,  v.  3  fp.). 
It  was  these  disturbances  and  perversions  which  o-ave 
occasion  to  Paul's  epistle.  The  epistle  was  written 
either  at  Troy  or  Corinth  (Acts  xvi.  3,  xviii.  11),  the 
time  not  quite  certain,  but  about  the  year  55  or  5G 
after  Christ.  Contrary  to  his  usual  custom  he  wrote 
the  epistle  with  his  own  hand  without  the  assistance 
of  an  amanuensis  (Gal.  vi.  11). 

The  epistle  may  be  arranged  in  two  divisions. 
1.  The  apostle's  assertion  of  his  own  authority  and 
dignity  as  a  teacher  of  Christianity  (i.  ii.).  2.  A  denial 
of  the  necessity  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  a  vindication 
of  the  glorious  freedom  of  the  Gospel  (iii.-v.),  and  an 
exhortation  that  this  freedom  should  not  be  abused  to 
licentiousness,  concluding  with  ethical  precepts  and 
warnings  (vi.).  The  genuineness  of  the  epistle  has 
never  been  seriously  questioned,  and  it  is  perfectly 
well  sustained  both  by  internal  evidence  and  external 
testimony. 

Witnesses  for  Galatians.     Clement  of  Rome,  Igna- 
tius, Polycarp,  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Tatian,  Athe- 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.       355 

nagoras,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Eusebius, 
Jerome,  Augustin. 

Specimens  of  Testimony.  Irenaeus.  "And  again  in 
the  epistle  which  is  to  the  Galatians  Paul  says.  But 
when  the  fullness  of  time  had  come  God  sent  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,"  etc.  Gal.  iv. 
4,  5.  "  But  also  the  apostle  Paul  saying,  For  if  ye 
served  those  who  were  not  gods,  but  now  knowing 
God,  nay  being  known  by  God."  Gal.  iv.  3,  9.  But 
also  in  that  which  is  to  the  Galatians,  he  speaks  thus, 
What  then  is  the  law  of  works  ?  It  was  added  until 
the  seed  should  come,"  etc.  Gal.  iii.  19. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "Wherefore  Paul,  also, 
writing  to  the  Galatians  says.  My  little  children,  of 
whom  I  travail  in  birth  again  till  Christ  be  formed  in 
you." 

Tertullian.  "  We  also  confess  then  the  principal  epis- 
tle against  Judaism  which  teaches  the  Galatians." 

"But  of  this  no  more,  if  it  be  the  same  Paul,  who 
also  in  another  place  enumerates  heresies  among  the 
works  of  the  flesh,  writing  to  the  Galatians." 

Justin  Martyr.  "Be  as  I  am,  for  I  am  as  ye  are." 
Gal.  iv.  12. 

Clement  of  Rome.  "  Who  gave  himself  for  our  sins, 
according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our  Father."  Gal.  i.  4. 

Ignatius.  "  An  apostle  not  of  men  nor  by  men, 
but  by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father  who  raised 
him  from  the  dead."  Gal.  i.  1,  Christ  is  become  of  no 
effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are  justified  by  the 
law."  Gal.  V.  4. 


356  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 


THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE    EPHESIANS. 

The  relations  of  the  apostle  Paul  to  the  church  at 
Ephesus  were  peculiarly  tender  and  interesting.  The 
19th  and  20th  chapters  of  the  book  of  Acts  should  be 
carefully  read  in  connection  with  this  epistle.  It  was 
written  while  Paul  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome,  about  A. 
D.  61  or  62.  (See  Acts  xxviii.  30  31,  and  Eph.  iii.  1, 
iv.  1,  vi.  20.)  The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which 
he  wrote  and  his  deep  interest  in  the  doctrinal 
purity  of  that  church,  as  evinced  in  his  address  to  the 
Ephesian  elders  assembled  at  Miletus  (Acts  xx.  28-32), 
led  him  to  a  dogmatic  discussion  of  the  peculiar  tenets 
of  the  religion  of  Christ,  more  characteristic  of  this 
epistle,  perhaps,  than  of  any  other  except  the  epistle 
to  the  Romans.  It  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
parts  of  three  chapters  each.  In  the  first  part  (i.,  ii., 
iii.),  as  might  be  expected,  the  dogmatic  or  theological 
element  predominates,  and  in  the  second  (iv.  v.  vi.), 
the  ethical  or  hortatory.  He  gives  great  prominence 
to  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and  insists  with  much 
emphasis  on  the  idea  that  Christ  is  the  sufficient  and 
the  only  Saviour  of  lost  man,  and  the  Saviour  equally 
and  in  the  same  way  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  in  this 
respect  particularly  the  letter  bearing  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  epistle  abund- 
antly asserts  itself  to  be  the  composition  of  Paul,  and  the 
composition  of  Paul  addressed  to  the  Ephesians  (Eph. 
i.  1,  iii.  1),  and  to  this  both  the  internal  evidence  and 
the  testimony  of  the  ancients  exactly  corresponds. 

Witnesses  for  the  Epistle  to  the  Ei)hesians.  Clement  of 
Rome,  Hernias,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Irenaeus,  Theophi- 


THE    FOURTEEN     EPISTLES     OF    PAUL.       357 

lus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Origen,  Epiph- 
anius,  Augustin,  Jerome,  Eusebius. 

Specimen  of  Testimony.  Irenaeus.  "As  the  blessed 
Paul  says  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  that  we  are 
members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones," 
Eph.  V.  30.  "And  this  also  Paul  says,  for  whatsoever 
doth  make  manifest  is  light."  Eph.  v.  13. 

Poly  carp.  "As  it  is  said  in  these  Scriptures,  Be  ye 
angry  and  sin  not.  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon 
your  wrath."  Eph.  iv.  26.  "Knowing  that  ye  are 
saved  by  grace,  not  of  works."  Eph.  ii.  8. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "  Wherefore,  writing  to 
the  Ephesians,  he  revealed  most  openly  that  which 
was  sought,  speaking  in  this  manner,  until  we  all  come 
in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  the  knowledge  of  God, 
unto  a  perfect  man."  etc.  Eph.  iv.  13,  14.  "Where- 
fore, also,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  he  writes, 
Be  subject  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of  God."  Eph. 
V.  21. 

Tertullian.  "  Here  I  pass  by  concerning  the  other 
epistle  which  we  have,  written  to  the  Ephesians." 
"  Indeed  in  the  truth  of  the  church  we  have  that  epis- 
tle sent  to  the  Ephesians." 

Origen.  "  But  also  the  apostle  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  uses  the  same  language  when  he  says,  Who 
chose  us  before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Eph.  i.  4. 

Ignatius.  "  Let  no  one  of  you  be  found  a  deserter. 
Let  your  baptism  remain  as  weapons,  faith  as  a  helmet, 
love  as  a  spear,  patient  continuance  as  the  whole  ar- 
mor." Eph.  vi.  13,  17.  "As  being  stones  of  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Father,  prepared  for  the  habitation  of  God 
the  Father."  Eph.  ii.  20-22. 


358  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Hermas.  "  For  it  would  become  you  as  the  servants 
of  God  to  walk  in  the  truth,  and  not  to  join  an  evil 
conscience  with  the  spirit  of  truth,  and  not  to  make 
grief  for  the  true  and  Holy  Spirit  of  God."  iv.  30. 

Clement  of  Rome.  "Why  should  there  be  among 
you  contentions,  wrath,  dissensions,  schisms  and  war  ? 
Have  we  not  one  God  and  one  Christ  ?  And  is  not 
one  spirit  of  grace  poured  out  upon  us?  And  is 
there  not  one  calling  in  Christ  ?  "  Eph.  iv.  4. 

EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

Philippi  was  the  first  city  in  Europe  where  Paul 
preached  the  Gospel  and  established  a  Christian  church. 
A  full  account  of  this  important  event,  of  the  difficul- 
ties which  the  apostle  encountered,  of  the  success 
which  attended  his  efforts,  of  the  shameful  abuses 
which  he  suffered,  and  of  his  dignified  assertion 
of  his  own  rights  as  a  Roman  citizen,  and  the  tardy 
but  ultimately  full  concession  of  these  rights  by  the 
magistrates ;  and  a  brief  notice  of  a  second  visit  there, 
is  found  in  Acts  xvi.  and  xx.  2-6.  There  was  a  very  ten- 
der friendship  between  the  apostle  and  the  Philippian 
Christians ;  they  had  been  liberal  to  him  beyond  what 
he  desired  or  they  could  really  afford  (Phil.  iv.  15,  16, 
2  Cor.  viii.  1-6) ;  and  the  occasion  of  his  writing  the 
epistle  was  the  generosity  of  his  Philippian  friends  in 
sending  Epaphroditus  all  the  way  to  Rome  with  sup- 
plies for  his  wants  while  he  was  a  prisoner  there." 
Phil.  iv.  18.  It  appears  to  have  been  written  about 
the  middle  of  the  yea.'  63  after  Christ. 

After  an  affectionate  introduction  (i.  1-11),  and  an 
account  of  his  condition  in  Rome  and  tlio  opposition 


THE     FOURTEEN     EPISTLES    OF     PAUL.       359 

he  had  encountered  from  Judaizing  teachers  (i.  12-26), 
he  exhorts  them  to  union  and  humihty  (i.  27-ii.  16), 
and  gives  them  information  in  respect  to  Timothy 
and  the  sickness  and  recovery  of  Epaphroditus  (ii. 
17-30.)  He  then  refers  again  to  the  opposition  which 
he  had  encountered  from  Jewish  teachers,  and  the 
attitude  of  his  own  mind  in  respect  to  their  doctrines 
(iii.  1-21),  and  concludes  with  affectionate  exhorta- 
tions and  salutations  (iv.).  The  epistle  affirms  itself 
to  be  the  writing  of  Paul  to  the  Philippians  (Phil.  i.  1), 
and  to  this  all  internal  evidence  and  external  testimony 
corresponds. 

Witnesses  to  Fjnstle  to  Philippians.  Clement  of  Rome, 
Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Letter  to  Diognetus,  Letter  of  the 
churches  of  Yienne  and  Lyons,  Irenaeus,  Theophilus, 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  TertuUian,  Cyprian,  Origen, 
Eusebius,  Augustin,  Jerome. 

Specimen  of  Testimony.  Polycarp  (writing  to  the 
Philippians).  "  Of  Paul  .  .  .  who  also  being  absent 
wrote  letters  to  you,  into  which  if  ye  look  intently,  ye 
will  be  able  to  be  built  up  into  the  faith  given  to  you." 
"  You,  among  whom  the  blessed  Paul  labored,  who  are 
praised  in  the  beginning  of  his  epistle  ;  for  of  you  he 
glories  in  all  the  churches  which  alone  then  knew  God." 
Phil.  i.  5  ff. 

Irenaeus.  "As  also  Paul  says  to  the  Philippians,  I 
am  full,  the  things  being  received  from  Epaphroditus 
which  Avere  sent  by  you,  an  odor  of  sweetness,  an  ac- 
ceptable sacrifice,  well  pleasing  to  God."  Phil.  iv.  18." 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "  Paul  also  confessing  con- 
cerning himself,  not  as  though  I  had  already  attained 
or  were  already  perfect,"  etc.  Phil.  iii.  12-14. 


360  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Church  of  Yienne  and  Lyons.  "Who  being  in  the 
form  of  God  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God."  Phil.  ii.  6. 

Tertullian.  "  Paul  himself  writes  to  the  Philippians, 
If  by  any  means  I  may  attain  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead."  etc.     Phil.  iii.  11  ff. 

Cyprian.  "Also  Paul  to  the  Philippians,  Who  being 
in  the  form  of  God,"  etc.    Phil.  ii.  6-11. 

Clement  of  Rome.  "  You  see,  men  beloved,  what 
an  example  is  given  to  us.  For  if  the  Lord  so  hum- 
bled himself,  what  shall  we  do  who  come  under  the 
yoke  of  his  grace  ?"  Phil.  ii.  5  ff. 

Ignatius.  "  I  exhort  you  to  do  nothing  by  conten- 
tion, but  according  to  the  discipline  of  Christ."  Phil, 
ii.  3. 

Irenaeus.  "  Concerning  which  resurrection  the  apos- 
tle, in  that  which  is  to  the  Philippians  says,  being  made 
conformable  to  his  death,  if  by  any  means  I  may  attain 
to  the  resurrection  which  is  from  the  dead." 

Theophilus.  "  That  indeed  now  these  things  are 
true  and  useful  and  just  and  lovely  to  all  men,  is  very 
plain."  Phil.  iv.  8. 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    COLOSSIANS-. 

Colosse  was  a  city  of  Asia  Minor,  near  Laodicea 
and  Hierapolis,  and  in  the  same  region  with  the  seven 
churches  to  which  the  Apocalypse  was  directed.  Paul 
had  not  been  there  personally  (Col.  ii.  1),  though  he 
had  twice  passed  through  that  country  (Acts  xvi.  6, 
xviii.  23),  but  there  were  members  of  that  church  who 
were  very  dear  to  him  (Col.  i.  7  IF.,  Philem) ;  and  at 
the  time  of  his  writing  this  epistle,  about  A.  D.  61  or 


THE    FOURTEEN   EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.        361 

62,  Epapliras,  the  teacher  of  the  church,  was  with  him 
(Col.  iv.  12,  Philem.  23)  while  a  prisoner  at  Rome. 
This  visit  of  Epaphras,  and  the  intelligence  which  he 
gave  to  Paul  respecting  the  church  at  Colosse,  afforded 
the  occasion  of  his  writing  this  letter  and  sending  it 
on  with  the  letter  to  Philemon  by  Tychichus  and  One- 
simus  (Col.  iv.  7-9,  Philem.  23). 

After  an  introduction  of  thanksgiving  and  interces- 
sion (i.  1-12),  he  testifies  to  the  Colossians  the  exalted 
dignity  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  benefits  of  the  re- 
demption received  through  him  (i.  13-23),  and  affirms 
that  he  himself  rejoices  to  suffer  for  their  salvation  (i. 
24-29),  in  order  the  more  effectually  to  warn  them 
against  those  who  by  worldly  craft  would  seduce  them 
from  Christ  (ii.  1-15),  for  it  is  his  chief  object  in  wri- 
ting to  this  church,  for  whose  love  and  sympthy  he 
felt  deeply  grateful,  to  protect  them  against  certain 
false  teachers,  who  combined  bigoted  adherence  to 
certain  Jewish  principles  with  severe  asceticism  and 
high  pretensions  to  superior  and  mysterious  wisdom 
(ii.  16-23).  The  last  half  of  the  epistle  is  taken  up 
with  eloquent  and  earnest  exhortations  to  holiness  of 
life  (iii.,  iv.). 

In  regard  to  this  epistle  also  internal  evidence  and 
external  testimony  fully  agree. 

Witnesses  for  Epistle  to  the  Colossians.  Clement  of 
Rome,  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Theophilus,  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  TertuUian,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Augustin, 
Jerome. 

Specimen  of  Testimony.  Irenaeus  iii.  14.  "And 
again  in  the  epistle  which  is  to  the  Colossians,  he  (Paul) 
says,  Luke  the  beloved  physician  saluteth  you."  Col. 


362  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

iv.  14.  "  And  on  this  account  the  apostle  in  the  epis- 
tle which  is  to  the  Colossians  says,  And  you  that  were 
once  alienated  and  enemies  in  your  mind  by  wicked 
works,  yet  now  hath  he  reconciled  in  the  body  of  his 
flesh  through  his  death  to  present  you  holy  and  pure 
and  without  fault  in  his  sight."  Col.  i.  21,  22. 

Justin  Martyr^  Dial.  c.  Tryph.  p.  310.  "He  was 
made  flesh  from  the  virgin's  womb,  the  first  born  of 
all  creatures."  "Knowing  him  to  be  the  first  begotten 
of  God,  and  also  of  all  creatures."  "The  first  born  of 
every  creature."    Col.  i.  15. 

Clement  of  Rome.  "  Ye  see,  beloved,  .  .  .  unless 
we  walk  worthy  of  him,  and  do  those  things  which 
are  honorable  and  well  pleasing  in  his  sight  with  all 
the  heart."    Col.  i.  10. 

Theophilus^  ad  Autol.  p.  100.  "  He  begat  this  word 
the  first  born  of  every  creature."  Col.  i.  15. 

Clement  of  Alexandria^  Strom,  i.  "In  the  epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  he  writes  warning  every  man  and 
teaching  in  all  wisdom  that  we  may  present  every  man 
perfect  in  Christ."  Col.  i.  28.  Strom,  vi. :  "Likewise 
he  speaks  to  the  Colossians  who  were  converted  from 
among  the  Greeks,  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you 
through  philosophy,"  etc.     Col.  ii.  8. 

Tertidlian^  De  Praes.  Haer.  c.  7.  "  The  apostle  wri- 
ting to  the  Colossians,  See  lest  any  one  circumvent 
you  by  philosophy  and  vain  seduction  after  the  tradi- 
tion of  men,"  etc.  Col.  ii.  8.  De  Resurrect.  Carnis.  c. 
23 :  "  Indeed  the  apostle  writing  to  the  Colossians 
teaches  that  we  were  sometime  dead,  alienated  and 
enemies  of  the  Lord  in  our  mind,  when  we  walked  in 
wicked  works;  thence  buried  in  the  baptism  of  Christ 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         363 

with  him,  and  rising  again  with  him  by  faith  of  the 
efficacy  of  God,  who  raised  him  from  the  dead.  And 
when  ye  were  dead  in  sins  in  the  circumcision  of  your 
flesh,  he  hath  quickened  you  together  with  him,"  etc. 
Col.  ii.  11-13. 

There  can  be  no  need  of  tracing  the  quotations  down 
any  further.  The  testimony  to  this  book,  as  to  every 
other  thus  far,  is  uniform  and  uncontradicted  from  the 
beginning  to  our  own  day,  or  at  least  to  the  times  of 
modern  unhistorical  criticism. 

EPISTLES    TO    THE    THESSALONIANS 1.   AND  II. 

Thessalonica,  situated  on  a  bay  near  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Therme,  was  a  large  and  populous  commer- 
cial city,  the  capital  of  one  of  the  four  districts 
into  which  the  Romans  divided  the  country  of  Mace- 
donia. It  received  its  name  from  its  founder,  Thesa- 
lonica,  the  wife  of  Cassander.  Paul  visited  the  city 
in  company  with  Silas  and  Timothy,  and  in  a  short  time 
gained  many  adherents,  especially  among  the  prose- 
lytes to  the  Jewish  religion  ;  but  was  soon  compelled 
to  leave  on  account  of  disturbances  excited  by  the 
Jews  (Acts  xvii.  1-9),  From  thence  he  went  to  Beroea, 
and  driven  also  from  that  city  he  repaired  to  Athens, 
leaving  his  two  companions  behind  with  directions  to 
follow  him  speedily  (Acts  xvii.  10-15).  He  then  went 
to  Corinth,  where  Timothy  and  Silas  rejoined  him  (Acts 
xviii.  5) ;  and  at  a  later  period  he  made  another  jour- 
ney to  Macedonia  and  probably  visited  Thessalonica. 
These  two  are  the  earliest  of  Paul's  epistles  which  we 
have,  as  the  first  was  written  as  early  as  A.  D.  52  oi* 
53,  and  the  second  soon  after,  during  his  residence  in 
Corinth  (2  Thess.  iii.  2,  Acts  xviii.  12  ff.) 


364  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

Full  of  anxiety  for  the  Thessaloniaus,  he  had  sent 
Timothy  from  Athens  to  inquire  after  them,  and  had 
received  information  by  him,  (Thess.  i.  1 ;  ii.  1 7 ;  fP. 
iii.  1-6,)  and  had  twice  endeavored  himself  to  return. 
The  church  was  in  circumstances  of  affliction,  and  need- 
ed encouragement  and  confirmation  and  further  de- 
velopment, (iii.  2-13)  ;  though  it  was  strong  in  the 
faith  and  alive  in  love.  (iii.  6-9,  iv.  10.)  They  had 
faults  for  which  the  apostle  had  verbally  reproved 
them,  (iv.  3-6,  11,  12.  v.  15,)  and  were  in  particular 
need  of  information  in  regard  to  what  would  be  the 
future  of  those  who  were  already  dead  at  the  final 
coming  of  Christ,   (iv.   13 — v.    11.) 

The  epistle  consists  of  two  parts,  to  wit : 

1.  The  expression  of  the  apostle's  affection  for  the 
Thessalonian  church,  a  notice  of  their  circumstances, 
his  reception  among  them,  his  care  for  them,  and  the 
comfort  they  gave  him.  i-iii. 

2.  Ethical  exhortations,  comforting  assurances  in  re- 
gard to  those  who  had  died,  (x.),  and  exhortations  to 
always  be  ready  for  death  and  the  coming  of  Christ, 
with  concluding  salutations,    (v.) 

TESTIMONIES   TO    I.    THESSALONIANS. 

Clement  of  Rome.  1  Epistle  ad  Cor.  c.  38.  We 
ought  in  every  thing  to  give  thanks  unto  him.  1  Thess. 
v.   18. 

Wherefore  let  our  whole  body  be  preserved  in  Christ 
JeSus.  1  Thess.  v.   23. 

Ignatius,  ad  Polyc,  2,  1.  Be  diligent  in  increas- 
ing prayers.  Thess.  v.  17.  Ad  Ephes.  2,  10.  And 
also  pray  without  ceasing  for  other  men. 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         365 

Polijcarp^  ad  Philip.  2,  4.  Without  ceasing  inter- 
ceding for  all.  Ibid.  c.  2.  Abstaining  from  all  evil, 
(v.   22). 

Irenaeus.  Haer.,  v.  6.  And  on  this  account  the 
apostle,  in  the  first  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  speak- 
ing thus,  May  the  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly, 
and  may  your  whole  spirit,  soul,  and  body  be  pre- 
served unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (v : 
23,  V.  30.)  This  also  the  apostle  says,  When  they 
shall  say  peace  and  safety,  then  sudden  destruction 
Cometh  upon  them.  v.    3. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Paed.  i.  p.  88.  But  this 
also  the  blessed  Paul  most  plainly  signified,  saying, 
When  we  might  have  been  burdensome  as  the  apostles 
of  Christ,  we  were  gentle  in  the  midst  of  you,  even  as 
a  nurse  cherisheth  her  children,  ii.    7. 

Strom,  i.,  p.  296.  Prove  all  things,  says  the  apostle, 
and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  v.   21: 

Tertullian.  De  Resur.  Carn.,  c.  24.  Learn  with  the 
Thessalonians,  for  we  read.  How  ye  turned  from  idols 
to  serve  the  living  and  true  God,  and  to  wait  for  his 
Son  from  heaven,  whom  he  raised  from  the  dead,  even 
Jesus,  i:  7,  10.  And  in  the  epistle  itself,  to  the  Thes- 
salonians, he  suggests.  Of  the  times  and  the  seasons, 
brethren,  ye  have  no  need  that  I  write  unto  you ;  for 
yourselves  know  perfectly  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so 
Cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night,  v.    1,  2. 

The  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  was  written 
especially  to  correct  a  misunderstanding  which  had 
arisen  out  of  the  first.  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  In  speaking  of 
the  day  of  judgment  he  had  said.  Then  we  who  are 
alive  and  remain^  etc.     From  this  some  had  inferred 


366  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

that  he  meant  to  teach  that  Christ  would  come  to  judg- 
ment during  the  life  time  of  that  generation.  In 
2  Thess.  ii.,  he  positively  denies  that  he  entertains  any- 
such  idea,  or  had  given  any  such  instruction.  He 
affirms  that  many  important  events  were  to  occur  be- 
fore the  second  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  they  might 
occupy  a  long  time.  He  fixes  no  time,  and  inasmuch 
as  the  time  is  entirely  uncertain,  he  uses  the  first  per- 
son plural,  as  a  convenient  indefinite  designation  of 
Christians,  at  whatever  time  they  might  meet  the  Lord 
at  his  coming.  So  Peter  labors  very  earnestly  to  show 
the  Christians  of  his  time,  that  without  any  violation 
of  the  divine  promise,  a  long  time,  as  men  view  time, 
might  yet  intervene  before  the  final  coming  of  the 
Lord,  2  Pet.  iii.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  cur- 
rent opinion  on  this  subject,  among  private  Christians, 
the  inspired  teachers  of  the  New  Testament  not  only 
did  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  the  immediate  coming  of 
the  Lord,  but  they  earnestly,  emphatically  and  re- 
peatedly taught  the  direct  contrary.  These  two 
chapters,  2  Thess.  ii.,  and  2  Pet.  iii.,  are  perfectly  ex- 
plicit on  this  point ;  and  the  same  idea  is  sufficiently  in- 
dicated in  other  passages,  such  as  Acts  i :  7,  John  xxi: 
21-23,  Markxiii:  32,  etc. 

The  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  consists : 

1.  Of  thanksgivings,  prayers  and  approval  of  the 
Thessalonians,  especially  in  reference  to  their  praise- 
worthy conduct  under  suffering. 

2.  A  correction  of  their  mistaken  notion  that  the 
second  advent  of  Christ  was  immediately  to  occur,  and 
warning  them  that  this  event  must  be  preceded  by  a 
great  apostacy,  requiring  a  considerable  interval  of 
time. 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         367 

3.  Admonitions  and  exhortations  appropriate  to 
their  condition ;  concluding  with  a  remarkable  state- 
ment of  the  manner  in  which  he  authenticated  all  his 
epistles. 

TESTIMONIALS    TO  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE   THESSALONIANS. 

Poly  carp,  ad  Phil,  2,  11.  'Yet  esteem  not  such 
as  enemies,  but  as  erring  members  recall  them,  that 
ye  may  save  your  whole  body.'  2  Thess.  iii.  15. 
Among  whom  the  blessed  Paul  labored,  who  are  in 
the  beginning  of  his  epistle,  of  you  there  is  glorying 
in  all  the  churches,  which  then  alone  knew  God.'  2 
Thess.  i.    5. 

Justin  Martyr.  Dial.,  p.  336.  'When  also  the  man 
of  the  apostacy,  speaking  proud  things  against  the 
Most  High,  will  dare  upon  the  earth  lawless  things 
against  us  Christians.'  2  Thess.,  ii.    3,  4. 

Irenaeus.  Haer.  v.  7.  'And  again,  in  the  sec- 
ond to  the  Thessalonians,  speaking  concerning  Anti- 
Christ,  And  then  shall  that  wicked  one  be  revealed, 
whom  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  slay  with  the  spirit  of 
his  mouth,  and  the  presence  of  his  advent  will  destroy 
him,  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  in 
all  power  of  signs  and  lying  wonders.'  2  Thess.   ii.   8. 

Ibid.  V.  25.  Concerning  whom  the  apostle,  in  the 
epistle  which  is  the  second  to  the  Thessalonians,  thus 
speaks.  Unless  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and  the 
man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition,  who  op- 
poseth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  is  worshipped,  so  that  he  sits  in  the  temple  of 
God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were  God.'  2  Thess. 
ii    3,  4. 


368  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Strom,  v.,  p.  554.  The 
apostle  says  there  is  not  knowledge  in  all ;  but  pray 
ye  that  we  may  be  delivered  from  unreasonable  and 
wicked  men,  for  all  men  have  not  faith.'  2  Thess.  iii .  2. 

Tertullian.  De  Res.  Car.  ii.  24.  '  And  in  the  second 
epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  with  a  more  correct  solici- 
tude to  the  same,  But  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gather- 
ing together  unto  him,  that  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in 
your  mind  or  troubled,  neither,  by  spirit,  nor  by  word, 
to  wit,  of  false  prophets,  nor  by  epistle,  to  wit,  of  false 
apostles,  as  if  by  us,  as  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at 
hand.'  2  Thess.  ii:  1-3.  Scorpi.,  p.  498.  'But  Paul 
the  apostle,  concerning  the  first  persecutor,  who  first 
shed  the  blood  of  the  church,  and  afterwards  changing 

the  sword  for  the  pen     says,  so  that 

we  ourselves  may  glory  in  you  in  the  churches  of  God, 
for  your  patience  and  faith  in  all  your  persecutions  and 
tribulations  which  ye  endure,  a  token  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  counted  worthy  of 
His  kingdom,  for  which  ye  also  suffer.'  2  Thess. 
i.    4,  5. 

THE    rmST    EPISTLE    TO    TBIOTHY. 

The  two  epistles  to  Timothy  and  the  epistle  to  Titus 
are  called  pastoral  epistles^  because  in  them  Paul  gives 
directions  to  these  two  helpers  of  his,  as  to  how  they 
should  conduct  themselves  as  the  shepherds  and  the 
patterns  of  the  flock  over  which  they  were  placed. 
Timothy  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Lystra  in  Lycaonia 
in  Asia  Minor,  the  son  of  a  Greek  father  and  Jewish 
mother.    He  was  received  into  the  church  by  Paul,  be- 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         369 

came  his  companion  and  fellow-laborer  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  and  was  his  fellow-prisoner  at  Rome.  Acts 
xvi-xx. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  precise  date  of  the 
first  epistle  to  Timothy,  nor  is  this  necessary  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  its  contents  or  the  establishment  of  its 
genuineness.  It  is  quite  probable  that  it  was  written 
from  Macedonia,  about  A.  D.  63  or  64,  and  not  im- 
possible that  it  might  have  been  written  from  Laodicea, 
according  to  the  old  superscription. 

Paul  had  departed  from  Ephesus  for  the  purpose  of 
going  to  Macedonia,  with  the  intention  of  speedily  re- 
turning ;  and  leaving  Timothy  meanwhile  in  charge  of 
the  Ephesian  church,  writes  to  him  these  directions, 
(1  Tim.  i.  3,  iii.  13.)  The  epistle  begins  with  per- 
sonal reminiscencies  and  affectionate  talk  with  Timo- 
thy, (i.)  proceeds  to  instructions  in  regard  to  public 
worship,  (ii.)  and  the  qualifications  of  church  officers, 
(iii.)  He  then  foretells  the  coming  in  of  false  teach- 
ers and  various  corruptions,  and  instructs  Timothy  in 
regard  to  the  course  he  was  to  pursue  when  he  had 
these  difficulties  to  encounter,  and  concludes  as  usual 
with  the  grace  he  luith  thee,  iv-vi. 

TESTIMONIALS    TO    THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    TO    TIMOTHY. 

Polycarp.  ad  Philip.  2,  12.  •  "Pray  for  all  the  saints, 
pray  also  for  kings  and  princes  and  all  that  are  in  au- 
thority."    1  Tim.  ii.    1,  2. 

Ihid.  2,  4.  "The  love  of  money  is  the  beginning 
of  all  evils.  But  knowing  that  we  brought  nothing 
into  this  world  and  can  carry  nothing  out,  let  us  arm 
ourselves  with  the  weapons  of  righteousness."  1  Tim. 
vi.  7,  10.        24 


370  BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Epistle  to  Diognetus.  "Being  reckoned  faithful  by 
Him  tliej  knew  the  mysteries  of  the  Father.  On  wliich 
account  he  sent  the  Word  that  He  might  appear  to  the 
world  ;  who  was  despised  by  the  people,  preached  by 
apostles,  believed  on  by  the  Gentiles."    1  Tim.  iii :  16. 

Epistle  of  the  Churches  at  Vienne  and  Lyons. 
"But  overwhelmingly  their  whole  fury  fell  upon 
Attains,  a  native  of  Pergamus,  who  had  always  been  the 
pillar  and  stay  of  the  faithful  there."  1  Tim.  iii :  15, 
compare  Rev.  iii:  12. 

"Alcibiades,  one  of  the  martyrs,  led  a  squalid  and 
ascetic  life,  accepting  no  food  but  bread  and  water 
only  up  to  that  time.  When  he  was  put  in  prison  he 
wished  to  retain  the  same  mode  of  living ;  but  after 
the  first  conflict  in  the  amphitheatre  it  was  revealed  to 
Attains  that  Alcibiades  was  not  doing  right,  and  set 
an  evil  example  for  others,  in  that  he  did  not  use  the 
creatures  of  God.  And  Alcibiades  being  persuaded 
then  began  to  use  all  kinds  of  food  promiscuously  and 
gave  thanks  to  God."    1  Tim.  iv.   3,  4. 

Irenaeus.  Haer.  i:  1.  "And  some  opposing  the 
truth  bring  in  false  words  and  vain  genealogies. 
which,  as  the  apostle  says,  minister  questions  rather 
than  godly  edifying  which  is  in  faith."    1  Tim.  i.   4. 

Ihid.  ii.  4.  "And  well  Paul  says,  novelties  of  words 
of  false  science.     1  Tim.  vi.    20. 

Athenagoras.  Legat.  pro  Christ,  p.  15.  "For  God 
is  all  things  to  himself,  light  inaccessible,  universe  per- 
fect, spirit,  power,  word."  1  Tim.  vi.    IG. 

Theopldlus.  Ad  Autol.  iii.  "  And  also  that  we  should 
be  subject  to  magistrates  and  powers,  and  pray  for 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.         371 

them,  our  divine  word  commands  in  order  tliat  we  may 
lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life."  1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2,  see 
Tit.  iii.    1. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Strom,  ii.,  p.  383.  "Con- 
cerning which  the  apostle  writing  says,  0,  Timothy, 
keep  that  which  is  committed  to  thee,  avoiding  profane 
novelties  of  words  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely 
so  called,  which  some  professing  have  erred  concern- 
ing the  faith.  By  this  word  are  those  heretics  re- 
proved who  set  aside  the  epistle  to  Timothy."  1  Tim. 
vi:  20,  21. 

Ihid.  ii.  p.  464.  "Whence  also  the  apostle,  I  will 
says  he  that  the  younger  women  marry,  bear  children, 
guide  the  house,  give  none  occasion  to  the  adversary 
to  speak  reproachfully,  for  some  are  already  turned 

aside  to  Satan."  1  Tim.    v.   14,  15. 

Admon.  ad  Gent.  "Godliness  is  profitable  to  all 
things,  says  Paul,  having  the  promise  of  the  present 
life  and  of  the  future."  1  Tim.  iv.    8. 

TertulUan.  De  Praescr.  Haer.  2,  25.  "And  Paul 
to  Timothy  uses  this  word,  0  Timothy  keep  that  which 
is  committed  to  thee."  1  Tim.  vi.    20. 

De  Pudicit.  2,  13.  "Plainly  the  same  apostle  deliv- 
ers to  Satan  Hymenaeus  and  Alexander  that  they  may 
learn  not  to  blaspheme,  as  he  writes  to  Timothy." 
1  Tim.  i.    20. 

Jerome.  Comment,  in  Epist.  Tit.  "Speaking  of 
Marcion  and  Basilides  and  all  heretics,  Jerome  says, 
that  rejecting  gospels  and  epistles  he  wonders  how 
they  dare  assume  to  themselves  the  Christian  name,  for, 
to  be  silent  concerning  other  epistles,  from  which  they 
erase  whatever  they  see  contrary  to  their  own  dogmas, 


372  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"they  reject  some  entire  epistles,  as  Timothy,  Hebrews, 
Titus,  which  we  are  now  undertaking  to  explain.  In- 
deed if  they  gave  any  reasons  why  they  suppose  these 
epistles  not  to  be  the  apostle's,  we  should  endeavor  to 
reply  and  perhaps  satisfy  the  reader.  But  now  they 
pronounce  with  heretic  authority,  and  say,  this  epistle 
is  Paul's,  and  this  is  not." 

THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHY. 

This  epistle  Paul  writes  from  Rome,  where  he  is  im- 
prisoned, inviting  Timothy,  who  is  at  Ephesus,  to  come 
to  him  and  bring  Mark  with  him  (2  Tim.  i.  8,  12,  16, 
iv.  5,'  9,  11,  16,  19,  21).  The  date  of  it  is  shortly  be- 
fore the  apostle's  martyrdom,  probably  A.  D.  65  or  66. 

He  expresses  his  affection  for  Timothy,  and  calls  to 
mind  various  interesting  personal  incidents  (i.),  ex- 
horts to  purity  of  life  and  fortitude  under  affliction  (ii.), 
warns  of  corruptions  and  false  teachers,  and  expresses 
his  own  calmness  and  happiness  in  view  of  his  ap- 
proaching martyrdom  (iv.). 

Testimonies  to  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timotliy.  Bar- 
nabas^ Epis.  7.  "If  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Lord, 
and  will  judge  the  quick  and  dead,  suffered,"  etc. 
2  Tim.  iv.  1. 

Ignatius^  ad  Ephes.  ii.  2.  "  But  also  Crocus,  who  is 
worthy  of  God  and  of  you,  whom  I  received  as  a 
proof  of  your  love,  refi'eshed  me  in  all  things  ;  and  in 
like  manner  will  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ  refresh 
him."  2  Tim.  i.  16,  18.  ,  "You  have  refreshed  me  in 
all  things  as  Jesus  Christ  refreshed  you.  You  have 
loved  me  both  absent  and  present ;  The  Lord  will  re- 
ward you."  2  Tim.  i.  16,  18.     Ad  Polyc.  c.  6  :   "  Please 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.       373 

Him  for  whom  you  are  soldiers,  and  from  whom  you 
receive  wages."  2  Tim.  ii.  4. 

Poly  carp  ^  Ep.  ad  Philip.  "As  He  hath  promised  us 
that  He  will  raise  us  from  the  dead,  and  that,  if  we 
walk  worthy  of  Him  we  shall  reign  with  Him,  provided 
that  we  believe."  2  Tim.  ii.  11,  12. 

Irenaeus,  Haer,  iii.  3.  "The  blessed  apostle, 
therefore,  founding  and  building  up  the  church  gave 
over  the  pastorship  to  Linus  for  the  administering  of 
the  church.  Of  this  Linus  Paul  makes  mention  in  his 
epistles  v/hich  are  to  Timothy."  2  Tim.  iv.  21.  Ihid^ 
V.  20:  "  Ever  learning  and  never  finding  the  truth." 
2  Tim.  iii.  7. 

Clement  of  Alexandria^  Strom,  iii.  p.  448.  "  For 
we  know  what  the  most  excellent  Paul  teaches  respect- 
ing women  deacons  in  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy." 
Ihid^  i.  p.  270:  "Thou  therefore  be  strong,  also  says 
Paul,  in  the  grace  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  what 
thou  hast  heard  from  me  among  many  witnesses,  the 
same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men  who  shall  be  able  to 
teach  others  also.  And  again.  Study  to  show  thyself 
approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to 
be  ashamed,  rightly  handling  the  word  of  truth." 
2  Tim.  ii.  1,  2,  15.  Admon.  ad  Gentil.  p.  56:  "The 
apostle  knowing  this  teaching  to  be  really  divine  says. 
Thou,  0  Timothy,  from  a  child  hast  known  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  sal- 
vation through  faith  in  Christ."  2  Tim.  iii.  15. 

Tertidlian^  Scorpiac.  c.  13.  "You  see  how  he  de- 
scribes the  felicity  of  martyrdom,  ....  Exulting  he 
writes  to  Timothy,  For  1  am  now  ready  to  be  offered 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.     I  have 


374  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I 
have  kept  the  faith,  there  remains  for  me  a  crown 
which  the  Lord  will  give  me  in  that  day."  2  Tim. 
iv.  6-8. 

Origen^  Comment,  in  Matt.  iii.  p.  916.  "Also  what 
he  says  as  Jannes  and  Mambres  withstood  Moses ;  this 
is  not  found  in  the  public  Scriptures,  but  in  a  secret 
book  which  is  entitled,  The  Book  of  Jannes  and  Mam- 
bres." 1  Tim.  iii.  8. 

EiLsebius^  E.  H.  iii.  4.  "  Linus  whom  he  (Paul)  has 
mentioned  in  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy."  H.  E. 
ii.  22  :  "  While  he  (Paul)  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome,  he 
wrote  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy  in  which  he  both 
mentions  his  first  defence  and  his  impending  death. 
Hear  on  these  points  his  own  testimony  respecting 
himself  Li  my  former  defence  no  one  was  present 
with  me  but  all  deserted  me.  May  it  not  be  laid  to 
their  charge.  But  the  Lord  was  with  me  and  strength- 
ened me,  that  through  me  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
might  be  fulfilled  and  all  the  nations  might  hear  it. 
And  I  was  rescued  out  of  the  lion's  mouth.'  He  plainly 
intimates  in  these  words,  '  On  the  former  occasion  he 
was  rescued  from  the  lion's  mouth,  that  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  might  be  accomplished,'  that  it  was 
Nero  to  whom  he  referred  by  this  expression,  as  is 
probable  on  account  of  his  cruelty.  Therefore  he  did 
not  subsequently  subjoin  any  such  expressions  as  '  he 
will  rescue  me  from  the  lion's  mouth,'  for  he  saw  in 
spirit  how  near  his  approaching  death  was.  Hence 
after  the  expression,  '  I  was  rescued  from  the  lion's 
mouth,'  this  also,  '  the  Lord  will  rescue  me  from  every 
evil  work,  and  will  save  me  unto  his  heavenly  king- 


THE     FOURTEEN     EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.       375 

dom,'  indicating  the  martyrdom  that  he  would  soon 
suffer ;  which  he  more  clearly  expressed  in  the  same 
epistle,  '  for  I  am  already  poured  out,  and  the  time  of 
my  departure  is  at  hand.'  And  indeed  in  this  second 
epistle  to  Timothy,  he  shows  that  Luke  alone  was  with 
him  when  he  wrote,  but  at  his  former  defence  not  even 
he."  2  Tim.  iv.  16,  18,  vi.  8,  11. 

We  see  in  all  these  testimonies,  when  the  witnesses 
quote  passages  at  large,  that  their  New  Testament 
books  not  only  had  the  same  names  which  we  now 
have,  but  precisely  the  same  contents,  the  ancient  and 
the  modern  being  identical  throughout. 

EPISTLE    TO    TITUS. 

Titus,  a  Greek  by  birth,  was  an  assistant  of  the  apos- 
tle Paul,  was  with  him  on  his  journey  to  Jerusalem 
(Gal.  i.  1-3) ;  fulfilled  commissions  for  him  in  Corinth 
(2  Cor.  vii.  6-4,  viii.  6-23,  xii.  18),  and  was  now  left 
in  Crete  to  attend  to  ecclesiastical  duties  in  that  island 
(Tit.  i.  5  ff.).  The  object  of  this  epistle  is  to  give 
him  instructions  in  respect  to  the  discharge  of  those 
duties. 

1.  Instructions  in  regard  to  the  appointment  of 
elders  and  the  treatment  of  false  teachers  (i.).  2.  The 
guiding  of  the  congregation  in  reference  to  the  differ- 
ent ranks  in  society  (ii.).  3.  Ethical  principles  of  a 
general  character,  warning  in  regard  to  controversies, 
and  personal  notices  (iii. ). 

The  epistle  was  probably  written  between  the  first 
and  the  second  epistle  to  Timothy. 

Testimonies  to  Titus.  Clement  of  Rome^  First  Epis- 
tle to  Cor.  ii.  2.  "Be  ready  to  every  good  work." 
Tit.  iii.  1. 


376  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Ignatius,  ad  Trail,  c,  3.  "Whose  very  behaviour 
(habit)  [xamaxTj^a)  is  a  great  discipline."  Tit.  ii.  3,  is  the 
only  passage  in  the  New  Testament  where  this  Greek 
word  occurs. 

Irenaeus,  Haer.  iii.  3.  "As  the  blessed  Paul  also 
says,  A  man  that  is  a  heretic  after  the  first  and  second 
admonition,  reject ;  knowing  that  he  who  is  such  is 
perverted  and  condemned  of  himself"  Tit.  iii.  10, 11, 
V.  15.  "Jesus  said  to  him,  Go  to  Siloam  and  wash, 
at  the  same  time  restoring  to  him  the  clay  ointment 
(plasmationem),  and  that  which  is  the  regeneration  by 
washing."  Tit.  iii.  5.  i.  16:  "As  many  as  stand  off 
from  the  church  and  give  heed  to  these  old  wives' 
fables  are  truly  condemned  of  themselves,  whom  the 
apostle  Paul  commands  us  after  the  first  and  second 
admonition  to  reject."  Tit.  iii.  10,  11. 

Tlieophilus,  ad  Autol.  iii.  p.  122.  "But  we  have  a 
lawgiver  who  is  truly  God,  who  teaches  us  to  live  a 
righteous,  godly  and  honorable  life."  Tit.  ii.  11,  12. 
ii.  p.  95:  "Men  about  to  receive  repentance  and  re- 
mission of  sins  all  come  to  the  truth  by  water  and  the 
washing  of  regeneration,  and  being  regenerated  receive 
blessing  from  God."  Tit.  iii.  5.  6. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  Strom,  i.  p.  290.  "Epimeni- 
des,  a  Cretan,  a  Greek  prophet  Avhom  Paul  knew,  of 
whom  he  makes  mention  in  the  epistle  to  Titus,  speak- 
ing thus,  One  of  themselves,  even  a  prophet  of  their 
own,  said,  the  Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts, 
slow  bellies."  Tit.  i.  12.  Admon.  ad  Gent.  p.  6  :  "  But 
now,  as  the  divine  apostle  of  the  Lord  said.  The  grace 
of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared  unto 
all  men,   teaching  us   that    denying  ungodliness    and 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.        377 

worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously  and 
godly  in  the  world,  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  even 
the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  Tit.  ii.  11-13. 

TertulUan,  De.   Praes.   Haer.      "And  Paul 

suggests  that  a  man  who  is  a  heretic  should  be  rejected 
after  the  first  admonition,  because  that  such  a  one  is 
perverse  and  in  fault,  and  is  condemned  of  himself" 
Tit.  iii.  10,  11. 

Tertullian  here  refers  to  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians 
as  if  the  passage  were  to  be  found  there ;  but  it  is  only 
one  of  the  numerous  instances  of  quotations  merely 
from  memory,  and  without  any  solicitude  for  literal 
accuracy,  which  are  so  common  with  the  fathers,  and 
should  always  be  taken  into  the  account  when  we  are 
reading  them. 

EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON. 

This  letter  was  addressed  not  only  to  Philemon,  but 
also  to  the  church  which  met  at  his  house  (1,  2). 
It  belongs  to  A.  D.  61  or  G2.  Philemon  was  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  Colosse,  a  relative  of  Apphia  and  Archippus, 
(perhaps  husband  and  father,)  who  had  been  converted 
to  Christianity  by  the  apostle  Paul  (13.  19).  He 
was  a  generous  believer,  full  of  faith  and  good  works 
(4,  7),  and  the  apostle  had  entire  confidence  in 
him  (14,  22).  Onesimus,  an  ill-conditioned  servant 
of  his,  had  robbed  him  and  then  fled  to  Rome  (10, 
11,  18,  19) ;  where  he  had  met  with  the  apostle  Paul, 
had  by  him  been  converted  to  Christ  and  was  much 
beloved  by  the  apostle  (12,  13).  Wishing  to  re- 
turn to  his  home  the  apostle  sends  him  with  this  won- 


378  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

derfuUy  afFectionate  and  beautiful  letter,  to  be  received 
by  Philemon  no  longer  as  a  slave,  but  as  a  friend,  as 
a  brother  beloved  (16) ;  for  so  much  the  apostle 
required ;  and  he  had  confidence  in  Philemon  that  he 
would  do  not  only  this,  but  even  more  than  he  had 
asked  (21).  The  whole  transaction  was  voluntary 
(19),  spontaneous,  joyous  in  regard  to  all  three; 
there  was  no  need  of  applying  to  the  police  or  calling 
out  the  militia,  or  putting  a  chain  around  the  court- 
house, or  doing  any  of  those  violent  and  disgraceful 
things,  which  made  some  of  our  American  cities  infa- 
mous, when  fugitive  slaves  were  to  be  returned  to  their 
southern  masters.  Of  all  the  shameful  travesties  of 
Scripture,  there  never  was  one  more  shameful  and 
ridiculous  than  that  which  put  the  story  of  Paul  and 
Onesimus  on  a  parallel  with  the  transactions  under  the 
Satanic  fugitive  slave  law  of  America. 

Testimonies  to  the  Epistle  to  Philemon.  Ignatius.^  ad 
Ephes.  c.  2,  Magnes.  c.  12,  Polyc.  c.  6.  "I  would  en- 
joy you  perpetually  if  only  I  may  be  worthy."  "  I 
would  enjoy  you  in  all  things,  if  indeed  I  may  be  wor- 
thy."    "I  would  enjoy  you  perpetually."  Phil.  20. 

Tertullian^  ad  Marc.  v.  42.  "  Its  brevity  gave  to 
this  epistle  alone  the  privilege  of  escaping  the  falsi- 
fying hands  of  Marcion." 

Upiphanius^  Haer.  xlii.  9.  "Marcion  receives  ten 
epistles  of  this  holy  apostle,  .  .  .  the  ninth  being  that 
to  Philemon." 

Oricjen^  Ilomil.  in  Jerem.  19.  "Which  Paul  also 
knowing  said  to  Philemon  in  regard  to  Onesimus,  in 
his  epistle  to  Philemon,  that  thy  benefit  should  not  be 
of  necessity,   but   willingly."  Phil.  14.     Matth.  Com. 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL  379 

tract.  34:  "As  Paul  says  to  Philemon,  For  we  have 
great  joy  and  consolation  in  thy  love,  because  the 
bowels  of  the  saints  are  refreshed  by  thee,  brother." 
Phil.  7.  Ihid^  tract.  3 :  "  But  concerning  Paul  it  is 
said  to  Philemon,  being  such  an  one  as  Paul  the  aged." 
Phil.  9. 

Jerome^  Comment.  Epist.  ad  Phil.  Jerome  is  speak- 
ing of  those  who  would  exclude  the  epistle  to  Phile- 
mon from  the  canon  on  the  ground  that  it  is  simply  a 
private  letter,  treating  of  personal  affairs,  and  not  a 
public  doctrinal  treatise,  and  says,  if  epistles  contain- 
ing allusions  to  private  aifairs  are  to  be  judged  not  to 
be  apostolic,  not  to  belong  to  Paul,  then  we  must  re- 
ject Romans,  Timothy,  Galatians,  Corinthians,  and 
others ;  but  if  we  receive  these,  there  is  no  ground  for 
rejecting  Philemon. 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    HEBREWS. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  to 
prove  to  the  Hebrew  Christians,  that  the  new  dispen- 
sation is  the  reality  and  jDcrfection  of  that  divine  reve- 
lation of  which  the  old  dispensation  was  but  the  type 
and  the  imperfect  beginning.  It  is  written  with  great 
care  and  in  a  style  of  remarkable  correctness.  The 
name  of  the  author  is  not  attached  to  it.  If  Paul 
were  the  writer  there  is  good  reason  for  both  these 
striking  facts.  His  name  and  his  doctrinal  peculiari- 
ties were  not  in  good  odor  among  the  Hebrews ;  and 
therefore,  as  a  wise  man,  he  would  not  needlessly 
parade  his  name  before  their  eyes,  and  would  exercise 
all  possible  care  in  the  statement  of  his  doctrines. 

The  learned  and  candid  Homan  Catholic,  Professor 


380  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Hug  concludes  his  laborious  investigation  of  this  sub- 
ject with  the  following  emphatic  declaration:  "The 
more  intimately  I  become  acquainted  with  the  writings 
of  the  apostle  (Paul),  the  more  I  am  disposed  to  re- 
gard the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  as  his  masterpiece.  It 
bears  the  seal  of  the  completion,  as  the  epistles  to  the 
Thessalonians  do  that  of  the  commencement,  of  his 
literary  career." 

The  question  of  authorship  is  and  must  be,  as  we 
have  before  stated,  mainly  a  question  of  testimony,  of 
external  evidence  ;  and,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  exhibi- 
tion of  the  testimony,  if  Paul  is  supposed  not  to  be 
the  author,  the  mention  of  any  other  name  in  connec- 
tion with  the  authorship,  is  mere  guess  work  without 
any  solid  foot-hold  whatever. 

The  author  first  sets  forth  the  connection  between 
the  Old  revelations  and  the  new,  and  the  infinite  supe- 
riority of  the  Son  of  God,  the  author  of  the  new  rev- 
elation, over  the  prophets  and  even  the  angels  who 
were  the  heralds  of  the  old,  (i.  ii).  He  then  p'oceeds 
to  demonstrate  the  superiority  of  Christ  to  Moses,  the 
one  merely  the  servant,  the  other  the  Son,  the  rightful 
and  only  inheritor,  (iii).  Christ  also  as  high  priest  is 
superior  to  the  high  priest  of  the  old  covenant,  being 
a  regal  priest  after  the  order  of  Melchisedeh,  having  a 
perpetual  priesthood,  and  a  priesthood  of  the  realities 
and  not  of  the  mere  type  and  images  of  tlie  heavenly 
things,  (iv-x).  Then  follow  practical  exhortations, 
earnest  warnings,  illustrations  of  faith  from  Old  Testa- 
ment examples,  and  allusions  to  personal  circumstances 
and  feelings.  The  date  of  the  epistle  and  the  place 
of  writing  it  is  impossible  now  to  ascertain.     The  old 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  381 

inscription  at  the  close  says  it  was  written  in  Italy  and 
forwarded  by  Timothy  ;  and  nobody  now  knows  any- 
thing more  on  this  subject  than  the  writer  of  this  in- 
scription. From  the  very  earliest  times,  by  the  very 
first  of  the  apostolic  fathers,  the  personal  friends  of  the 
apostles  themselves,  this  epistle  has  been  quoted  and 
appealed  to  as  an  undoubted  portion  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, though  we  do  not  find  the  name  of  the  author 
mentioned  till  we  come  to  Pantaenus,  the  celebrated 
principal  of  the  theological  school  at  Alexandria,  about 
A.  D.  180,  who  unhesitatingly  ascribes  it  to  Paul;  and 
from  that  time  the  writers  in  the  Eastern  church  almost 
without  exception  accept  Paul  as  the  author ;  while  in 
the  Western  church  there  was  more  hesitation  and 
doubt  as  to  the  author,  though  none  in  respect  to  its 
canonicity  and  authority ;  till  we  come  to  Jerome  and 
Augustin,  from  which  time  it  was  universally  received 
in  the  church  as  a  genuine  and  scriptural  epistle  of  the 
apostle  Paul.  Individual  doubters  as  to  the  author 
have  often  shown  themselves,  and  in  modern  times 
they  have  become  numerous,  but  the  great  body  of 
the  believers  have  always  recognized  in  it  the  hand  of 
Paul  the  great  apostle.  All  the^  ancient  catalogues  of 
any  authority  assign  fourteen  epistles  to  Paul,  which 
necessarily  includes  Hebrews,  for  without  this  there  are 
but  thirteen.  There  is  certainly  no  decided  internal 
evidence  against  the  authorship  of  Paul,  while  there  is 
very  much  in  its  favor  ;  while  of  the  external  evidence, 
the  testimony,  it  is  ten  to  one,  ninety-nine  to  a  hun- 
dred, in  favor  of  Paul.  In  consequence  of  the  contro- 
'versies  on  the  subject,  it  will  be  expedient  to  give 
these  testimonies  a  little  more  at  large  than  we  have 


382  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

done  in  some  other  cases,  though  after  all  our  limits  will 
allow  us  to  give  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  whole. 
The  ancients  knew  no  other  author  than  Paul ;  if  Paul 
were  not  the  writer  we  find  nothing  in  them  on  the 
subject. 

Clement  of  Rome.  In  regard  to  the  testimony  of 
this  writer  respecting  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  let  us 
first  attend  to  the  following  statement  by  Jerome,  (Cat. 
Script.  EccI,  c.  15).  "Clement,  in  behalf  of  the  Ro- 
man church,  wrote  a  very  valuable  epistle  to  the  church 
of  the  Corinthians,  which  in  some  places  is  publicly 
read,  and  which  seems  to  me  to  correspond  in  charac- 
ter very  much  to  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which  is 
circulated  under  the  name  of  Paul.  He  takes  many 
things  from  that  epistle ;  not  only  in  meaning  but  in 
the  words  themselves  there  is  a  great  similitude  be- 
tween them." 

The  following  extracts  from  this  epistle  of  Clement, 
fully  justify  these  statements  of  Jerome,  and  strongly 
corroborate  the  canonical  authority  of  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  We  select  but  a  very  few  out  of  the 
whole  number. 

"P)y  him  would  God  have  us  to  taste  the  knowledge 
of  immortality ;  who,  being  the  brightness  of  his 
glory,  is  by  so  much  greater  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath 
by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent  name  than 
tliey.  For  so  it  is  written.  Who  maketh  his  angels 
spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  But  to  his 
Son,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day 
have  I  begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee 
the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  utmost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  thy  possession.     And  again  he  saith 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  383 

unto  him,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool.   (Heb.  i). 

Thus  has  the  humility  and  godly  fear  of  these  great 
and  excellent  men,  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  through 
obedience,  made  not  only  us,  but  also  the  generations 
before  us,  better ;  even  as  many  as  have  received  his 
holy  oracles  with  fear  and  truth.  Having  therefore  so 
many,  and  such  great  and  glorious  examples,  let  us  re- 
turn to  that  peace,  which  was  the  mark  that  from  the 
beginning  was  set  before  us :  Let  us  look  up  to  the 
Father  and  Creator  •  of  the  whole  world ;  and  let  us 
hold  fast  to  his  glorious  and  exceeding  gifts  and  bene- 
fits of  peace.   (Heb.  xii). 

Let  us  receive  correction,  at  which  no  man  ought 
to  repine.  Beloved,  the  reproof  and  the  correction 
which  we  exercise  towards  one  another,  is  good,  and 
exceedingly  profitable ;  for  it  unites  us  the  more  closely 
to  the  will  of  God.  For  so  says  the  Holy  Scripture, 
The  Lord  corrected  me,  but  he  did  not  deliver  me 
over  unto  death.  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chas- 
teneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth. 
Let  us  be  followers  of  those  who  went  about  in  goat- 
skins and  sheep-skins,  preaching  the  coming  of  Christ. 
(Heb.  xi). 

All  things  are  open  before  him ;  nor  can  any  thing 
be  hid  from  his  counsel.  For  he  is  the  searcher  of  the 
thoughts  and  counsels  of  the  heart ;  whose  breath  is 
in  us,  and  when  he  pleases  he  can  take  it  from  us. 
(Heb.  iv). 

Moses  was  called  faithful  in  all  God's  House ;  and  by 
his  conduct  the  Lord  punished  Israel  by  stripes  and 
plagues.     (Heb.  iii). 


384  BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Having  therefore  this  hope,  let  us  hold  fast  to  him 
who  is  faithful  in  all  his  promises,  and  righteous  in  all 
his  judgments ;  who  has  commanded  us  not  to  lie,  how 
much  more  will  he  not  himself  lie  ?  For  nothing  is 
impossible  with  God,  but  to  lie.     (Heb.  vi). 

Justin  Martyr.  Dial.  p.  341.  "This  is  he  who  is 
according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedec  king  of  Salem, 
being  an  eternal  priest  of  the  most  high."  (Heb.  v:  9, 
16,  vi:  20,  vii:  12).  (p.  323).  "Eternal  priest  of 
God,  and  king,  and  Christ."  Apol.  i.  "But  he  is  also 
called  an  angel  and  apostle."  Heb.  iii:  1.  This  is  the 
only  passage  in  the  whole  Bible  where  Christ  is  called 
an  apostle. 

IrenaeiLS.  Haer.  ii.  30.  "He  alone  is  God  who 
made  all  things,  the  only  omnipotent,  the  only  Father, 
building  and  making  all  things,  both  visible  and  in- 
visible, both  sensible  and  senseless,  both  celestial  and 
terrestrial,  by  the  word  of  his  power."  (Heb.  i:  3). 
V.  5.  "Enoch  having  pleased  God  was  translated  in  the 
body,  foreshowing  the  translation  of  the  saints."  (Heb. 
ii:   5). 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Strom,  vi.  p.  645.  "For 
Paul  also  —  writing  to  the  Hebrews  —  and  ye  again 
have  need  that  I  should  teach  you  what  be  the  first 
principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,  and  have  become  as 
those  who  have  need  of  milk  and  not  of  strong  meat." 
(Heb.  v:  12).  ihid.  ii.  p.  420.  "But  we  desire  that 
each  one  of  you  should  show  the  same  diligence  to  the 
full  assurance  of  hope,  until  made  a  high  priest  after 
the  order  of  Melchisedec ;  the  like  things  says  the  all 
virtuous  wisdom  to  the  apostle  Paul."  (Heb.  vii). 

Tertullian.  Dc  Pudic.  c.  20.     "Therefore  admonish- 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  385 

ing  the  disciples  that  leaving  the  first  principles  they 
should  go  on  to  perfection,  not  laying  again  the  foun- 
dation of  repentance  from  works  of  the  dead,  for  it 
is  impossible  he  says,  that  those  who  were  once  en- 
lightened and  have  tasted  the  heavenly  gift,  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  have  tasted  the  sweet 
word  of  God,  when  they  fall  away,  that  they  should  be 
recalled  to  penitence,  they  having  crucified  to  them- 
selves the  Son  of  God  afresh  and  put  Him  to  an  open 
shame."  (Heb.  vi.  1-6). 

Origen.  Epist.  ad  Afr.  "The  author  of  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  says.  They  were  stoned,  they  were 
sawn  asunder,  they  were  slain  with  the  sword."  Heb. 
xi.  37.  Com.  in  Joan.  ii.  "And  Paul  himself  says  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  In  these  last  days  He  hath 
spoken  to  us  by  His  Son,  whom  He  hath  made  heir  of 
all  things,  by  whom  also  He  made  the  world."  Heb. 
i.  2.  Com.  in  Epist.  Rom.  vii.  "Angels  themselves 
also,  if  you  look  to  the  sentiment  of  Paul,  what  he 
says,  that  they  are  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  min- 
ister to  those  who  shall  be  the  heirs  of  salvation."  Heb. 
i.  7,  14.  Com.  in  Joan.  xx.  "  When  also  it  is  written 
in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  But  solid  food  is  for 
them  who  are  perfect."  Heb.  v.  14,  De  Orat.  "But 
these  are  his  very  words  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  he  appear- 
ed to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself"  Ileo. 
ix.  26.  In  Num.  Hom.  2.  "But  Paul  also  himself, 
writing  to  the  Hebrews  says.  Ye  have  not  come  to  the 
tangible  mountain  and  the  burning  fire,  but  ye  have 
come  to  mount  Zion.  Heb.  xii.  13. 

25 


386  THE   BOOKS   OF    THE   BIBLE. 

Athanasius.  0pp.  i.  p.  266.  "For  also  the  blessed 
Paul  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  said,  By  faith  we 
understand  that  the  worlds  were  made  by  the  word  of 
God."  "  Heb.  xi.  3.  ihid.  p.  265.  And  also  the 
apostle  said,  "God  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  His 
Son,  whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by 
whom  also  He  made  the  world."  Heb.  i.  1,  2. 

Epiplianius.  Haer.  70.  Which  the  apostle  indi- 
cates in  these  words,  "For  the  word  of  God  is  quick, 
and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  Neither  is 
there  any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight :  but 
all  things  are  naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  him 
with  whom  we  have  to  do."  Heb.  iv.  12,  13.  And 
then  also  concerning  those  who  have  an  honorable 
marriage  he  says,  "Marriage  is  honorable  in  all,  and 
the  bed  undefiled :  but  whoremongers  and  adulterers 
God  will  judge."  Heb.  xiii.  4.  Haer.  69.  "But  they 
(the  Arians),  repudiate  this  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and 
reject  it  from  the  apostolic  writings." 

Theodoret  Interpret.  Epist.  ad  Heb.  "  They  who 
are  afflicted  with  the  Arian  disease  do  nothing  that  is 
surprising  if  they  rage  against  the  apostolic  epistles, 
and  separate  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  from  the  rest 
and  call  it  spurious." 

Jerome.  Epist.  ad  Dard.  "The  epistle  which  is  in- 
scribed to  the  Hebrews,  is  received  as  the  work  of  the 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL.  387 

apostle  Paul,  Dot  only  by  the  churches  of  the  East, 
)3ut  by  all  the  ecclesiastical  writers  in  the  Greek  lan- 
"uage."  In  Matth.  i.  26.  "For  also  Paul,  in  his  epistle 
which  is  written  to  the  Hebrews,  though  many  of  the 
Latins  have  doubts  concerning  it."  Comment,  in 
Isaiam.  iii.  6.  "Whence  also  Paul,  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  which  the  Latin  custom  does  not  receive, 
says.  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits  ?" 

As  Eusebius  is  so  important  a  witness,  and  he  col- 
lected and  examined  most  of  the  testimonies  which 
existed  in  his  own  time,  it  will  be  of  decided  utility, 
in  regard  to  the  books  of  which  he  expresses  any 
doubt,  to  place  in  one  view  his  own  testimony  and  that 
which  he  collects  from  others.  I  therefore  here  place 
by  itself,  a  portion  of  the  testimonies  collected  hy  Euse- 
hius  in  regard  to  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

E.  H.  V.  26.     "Besides  the  works  and  epistles  of 

Irenaeus,  above  mentioned,  there  is    a  book 

also  of  various  disputations,  in  which  he  mentions  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews,"  etc. 

E.  H.  vi.  14.  The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  he  (Clem- 
ent of  Alex'a)  asserts  was  written  by  Paul,  to  the  Hebrews 
in  the  Hebrew  tongue  ;  but  that  it  was  carefully  transla- 
ted by  Luke,  and  published  among  the  Greeks.  Whence, 
also,  one  finds  the  same  character  of  style  and  of  phrase- 
ology in  the  epistle  as  in  the  Acts.  "But  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  title,  Paul  the  Apostle,  was  not  prefixed 
to  it.  For  as  he  wrote  to  the  Hebrews,  who  had  im- 
bibed prejudices  against  him,  and  suspected  him,  he 
wisely  guards  against  diverting  them  from  the  perusal, 
by  giving  his  name."     A  little  after  this  he  observes: 


388  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"But  now  as  the  blessed  presbyter  used  to  say,  'Since 
the  Lord  who  was  the  apostle  of  the  Almighty,  was 
sent  to  the  Hebrews,  Paul  by  reason  of  his  inferiority, 
as  if  sent  to  the  Gentiles,  did  not  subscribe  himself  an 
apostle  of  the  Hebrews ;  both  out  of  reverence  for  the 
Lord,  and  because  he  wrote  of  his  abundance  to  the 
Hebrews,  as  a  herald  and  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.'  " 

E.  H.  vi.  4L  Dionysius  of  Alexandria  says,  "  There 
were  some  who  took  the  spoiling  of  their  goods  joy- 
fully, like  those  of  whom  the  apostle  Paul  testifies." 
Heb.  X.  39. 

E.  H.  iii.  38.  "We  may  mention  as  an  instance 
what  Ignatius  has  said  in  the  epistles  we  have  cited, 
and  Clement  of  Rome  in  that  universally  received  by 
all,  which  he  wrote  in  the  name  of  the  church  at  Rome 
to  that  of  Corinth.  Li  which,  after  giving  many  senti- 
ments taken  from  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  also 
literally  quoting  the  words,  he  most  clearly  shows  that 
this  work  is  by  no  means  a  late  production.  Whence 
it  is  probable  that  this  was  also  numbered  with  the 
other  writings  of  the  apostles.  For  as  Paul  had  ad- 
dressed the  Hebrews  in  the  language  of  his  country ; 
some  say  that  the  evangelist  Luke,  others  that  Clement, 
translated  the  epistle.  Which  also  appears  more  like 
the  truth,  as  the  epistle  of  Clement  and  that  to  the 
Hebrews,  preserve  the  same  features  of  style  and 
phraseology,  and  because  the  sentiments  in  both  these 
works  are  not  very  diiferent." 

E,  H.  ii.  17.  Eusebius  is  quoting  from  an  account 
of  the  ascetics  in  Egypt  by  Philo,  and  says:  "After 
other  matters,  he  adds :  '  The  whole  time  between  the 
morning  and  evening,  is  a  constant  exercise ;  for  as 


THE    FOURTEEN    EPISTLES   OF    PAUL.        389 

they  are  engaged  with  the  sacred  Scriptures,  they  rea- 
son and  comment  upon  them,  explaining  the  philoso- 
phy of  their  country  in  an  allegorical  manner.  For 
they  consider  the  verbal  interpretation  as  signs  indica- 
tive of  a  secret  sense  communicated  in  obscure  intima- 
tions. They  have  also  commentaries  of  ancient  men, 
who,  as  the  founders  of  the  sect,  have  left  many  mon- 
uments of  their  doctrine  in  allegorical  representations, 
which  they  use  as  certain  models,  imitating  the  manner 
of  the  original  institution.'  These  facts  appear  to 
have  been  stated  by  a  man  who,  at  least,  has  paid  atten- 
tion to  those  that  have  expounded  the  sacred  writings. 
But  it  is  highly  probable,  that  the  ancient  commenta- 
ries which  he  says  they  have,  are  the  very  gospels  and 
writings  of  the  apostles,  and  probably  some  exposi- 
tions of  the  ancient  prophets,  such  as  are  contained  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  many  others  of  St 
Paul's  epistles." 


CHAPTER    ELEVENTH. 

THE    SEVEN    CATHOLIC    EPISTLES  AND  THE    COMPARISON   OF 
THE  APOCRYPHAL  EPISTLES  WITH  THE  CANONICAL. 

THE  SEVEN  CATHOLIC  EPISTLES. 

The  seven  Catholic  epistles,  which  in  the  common 
edition  of  the  Testament  immediately  follow  the  four- 
teen epistles  of  Paul,  though  in  the  earlier  manuscripts 
they  precede  instead  of  follow  Paul,  are  so  called  be- 
cause, with  a  single  exception,  and  that  the  shortest 
one,  the  third  of  John,  they  are  not  addressed  to  any 
particular  church  or  person,  but  have  a  general  direc- 
tion, and  by  some  of  the  ancients  they  are  called  evan- 
gelical or  circular  letters  (Oecumenius,  Proleg.  in  Ep. 
Jac). 

In  general  they  have  always  formed  a  part  of  the 
canon  of  the  New  Testament.  Any  partial  exception 
to  this  rule  will  be  adverted  to  in  the  notices  of  the 
separate  books. 

epistle  of  JAMES. 

In  the  historical  books  of  the  New  Testament  we  read 
of  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  one  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles of  our  Lord,  who  very  early  suffered  martyrdom 
(Acts  xii) ;  of  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  of  James 
the  brother  of  our  Lord.     The  last  two  are  supposed 


392  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

by  many  to  be  identical,  and  it  is  not  easy,  either  from 
the  statements  of  Scripture  or  the  testimony  of  the 
early  ecclesiastical  historians,  to  decide  positively 
whether  they  are  so  or  not.  From  the  best  examina- 
tion which  I  have  been  able  to  make,  it  is  my  opinion 
that  James  the  brother  of  the  Lord  is  a  different  per- 
son from  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  that  it  was  the 
idea  of  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary  which  induced 
many  of  the  early  church  fathers  to  identify  the  two. 

James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  was,  as  I  think,  a 
younger  son  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus ;  he  is  the 
one  mentioned  in  Acts  xii.  17,  xv.  13,  xxi.  18,  Gal.  ii. 
9,  Matt.  xiii.  55,  Mark  vi.  3 ;  and  it  was  he  who  pre- 
sided so  long  and  so  honorably  over  the  church  at  Je- 
rusalem, till  he  met  with  a  violent  death  at  the  hands 
of  a  mob  as  related  by  Josephus  (Antiq.  xx.  8:1) 
and  by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  ii.  23)  ;  and  that  this  is  the 
James  who  wrote  the  epistle.  There  are  no  data 
for  fixing  the  time  of  its  composition.  It  may  have 
been  as  early  as  A.  D.  45  or  as  late  as  62,  but  the  ear- 
lier date  is  the  more  probable. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  epistle  to  exhort  to  steadfast- 
ness in  the  Christian  profession,  to  rebuke  certain  faults 
which  began  to  be  prevalent  in  the  Christian  churches 
composed  principally  of  Jews,  and  particularly  to 
guard  against  the  abuses  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation 
by  faith  alone.  This  last  characteristic  favors  the  idea 
of  the  later  date  of  the  epistle.  It  was  addressed  par- 
ticularly to  Jewish  Christians  living  out  of  Palestine 
(James  i.  1,  ii.  21) ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  systematic  in 
its  arrangement,  but  impulsive  and  miscellaneous.  It 
contemplates  the  afllicted  and  oppressed  condition  of 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  393 

the  Hebrew  Christians,  and  warns  against  the  mistake 
of  those  who  are  hearers  of  the  word  only  without 
practical  obedience  (i.),  rebukes  a  manifest  partiality 
for  rich  men  in  the  congregations  (ii.),  shows  the  ne- 
cessity of  good  works  as  the  fruit  and  the  evidence  of 
faith  (iii.-iv.);  gives  a  reproof  of  oppressive  rich  men, 
exhortation  to  steadfastness  under  persecution,  warning 
against  extra  judicial  oaths,  and  directions  for  the  care 
of  the  sick  (v.). 

The  epistle  was  received  as  genuine  Scripture  in  the 
Syrian  Peschito,  and  is  quoted  by  the  Syrian  saint, 
Ephraem,  as  the  work  of  our  Lord's  brother.  It  was 
read  by  the  apostolic  fathers,  Clement  of  Rome  and 
Irenaeus;  it  is  expressly  mentioned  by  Origen,  doubtful- 
ly received  by  Eusebius,  and  rejected  by  Theodore  of 
Mopsuestia.  During  the  fourth  century  it  obtained  full 
canonical  authority  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
churches.  All  this  will  clearly  appear  in  the  quota- 
tions which  follow. 

i 

TESTIMONIES   TO    THE    EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

Ephraem  Syr.,  0pp.  Grace,  iii.  51.  "James,  the 
brother  of  our  Lord,  says.  Howl  and  weep."  James  v.  1. 

Clement  of  Borne,  1  Epist.  ad  Cor.  c.  30.  "  For  God, 
he  says,  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble."  James  iv.  6.  c.  38  :  "  Let  the  wise  man 
shew  his  wisdom  not  in  words  but  in  good  works." 
James  iii.  13.  c.  17:  "Abraham  had  a  great  testimo- 
ny and  was  called  the  friend  of  God."  James  ii.  23. 
c.  10:  "Abraham,  who  was  called  God's  friend,  was  in 
like  manner  found  faithful,  inasmuch  as  he  obeyed  the 
commands  of  God."  James  ii.  23.     c.  31:   "On  what 


394  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

account  was  our  father  Abraham  blessed  ?  Was  it  not 
that  through  faith  he  wrought  righteousnes  and 
truth?"  James  ii.  2.  C.  23:  "Far  be  from  us  that 
Scripture  which  says,  Miserable  are  the  double  minded 
and  those  who  are  doubtful  of  soul."  James  i.  8. 

Shepherd  of  Hermas^  Simil.  v.  4.  "  Whoever  is  the 
servant  of  God  and  has  the  Lord  in  his  heart,  he  seeks 
wisdom  from  Him  and  obtains  it.  ,  .  .  Let  them 
not  hesitate  to  seek  of  the  Lord,  for  the  Lord  is  of 
goodness  so  profound  that  to  those  seeking  from  Him 
He  gives  all  things  without  interruption."  James  i.  5. 
Command,  xii.  5  :  "  The  Devil  can  wrestle  but  he  can 
not  conquer ;  for  if  you  resist  him  he  will  flee  from 
you  in  confusion."  James  iv.  7.  Ihid^  5:  "Rather 
fear  the  Lord,  who  is  able  both  to  save  and  to  de- 
stroy." James  iv.  12.  Vision,  iii.  9  :  "  See  to  it,  there- 
fore, ye  who  glory  in  your  riches,  lest  they  groan  who 
are  in  want,  and  their  groaning  ascend  to  the  Lord, 
and  ye  be  shut  out  with  your  goods  beyond  the  gate 
of  the  tower."  James  v.  1-4. 

Irenaeus^  ad  Haer.  iv.  1 6.  He  shows  that  Abraham 
himself  was  justified  without  circumcision  and  without 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Abraham  believed 
God  and  it  was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness,  and 
he  was  called  the  friend  of  God,"  James  ii.  23.  13  : 
"Abraham  was  made  the  friend  of  God." 

Athanasius^  ad  Serap.  1.  "  But  with  God,  says 
James,  there  is  no  variableness  neither  shadow  of  turn- 
ing." James  i.  17.  Cont.  Arium.  Or.  3  :  "As  James  the 
apostle  taught  saying.  Of  His  own  will  begat  he  us 
with  the  word  of  truth."  James  i.  18. 

Clement  of  Alexandria^   Strom,  iii.     "And   so   he 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  395 

called  him  (Abraham)  His  friend."  James  ii.  23.  Ihid: 
"  But  the  Scripture  says  to  them,  God  resisteth  the 
proud  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  James  ii.  6. 

Tertullian^  De  Orat.  c.  8.  "  But  far  be  it  from  the 
Lord  that  He  should  seem  to  tempt,  as  if  He  were 
ignorant  of  his  faith."  James  i.  13.  "Whence  was 
Abraham  reputed  the  friend  of  God,  if  not  from 
equity  and  righteousness  of  natural  law  ?  "  James  ii.  23. 

Origen^  Comment,  in  John  xix.  "  For  if  it  may 
even  be  called  faith,  yet  it  may  be  without  works,  but 
faith  of  this  kind  is  dead,  as  we  read  in  the  epistle 
which  is  circulated  under  the  name  of  James." 
Comment,  in  Ep.  ad  Rom.  iv. :  "  Hear  also  James,  the 
brother  of  the  Lord,  .  .  .  when  he  says,  he  who  will 
be  the  friend  of  this  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God." 
James  iv.  4.  Ihid:  "And  finally  James  the  apostle 
says  this.  Resist  the  Devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you ; 
draw  nigh  to  God  and  he  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 
James  iv.  7,  8.  Ihid^  "  So  also  James  the  apostle 
says,  every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from 
above,  and  cometli  down  from  the  Father  of  lights." 
James  i.  17.  In  Psalm  30:  "And  in  James,  as  the 
body  without  the  spirit  is  dead."  In  Ps.  36 :  "  For  it 
is  an  apostle  who  says,  in  many  things  we  all  offend, 
and  if  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  he  is  a  perfect 
man."  James  iii.  2.  Select.  Exod:  "  Wherefore  it  is 
said,  God  is  not  tempted  of  evil." 

Einplianius^  Haer.  xxxi.  "And,  again,  St.  James 
speaks  concerning  such  teaching,  that  it  is  not  the  wis- 
dom that  Cometh  from  above,  but  is  earthly,  sensual, 
devilish.  But  the  wisdom  which  is  from  above  is  first 
pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle  and  easy  to  be  entreated, 


396  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits."  etc.  James  iii.  17.  Ibid, 
Ixxvii. :  "According  as  it  is  written,  pure  religion  be- 
fore God  and  the  father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  un- 
spotted from  the  world."  i.  27. 

Jerome^  Catal.  Script.  Eccl.  c.  2.  "James,  who  is 
called  the  brother  of  the  Lord,  and  by  surname  the 
Just  .  .  .  after  the  passion  of  the  Lord  was  or- 
dained by  the  apostles  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  wrote  only 
one  epistle,  which  is  of  the  seven  Catholic  epistles." 

As  Eusebius  expresses  some  doubts  as  to  the  epistle 
of  James,  we  here  present  in  one  view  both  his  own 
testimony  and  that  which  he  has  selected  from  others, 
as  we  have  done  in  regard  to  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, and  for  the  same  reason. 

(Kirchhofer,  p.  264-66,  62.) 

In  Psalm :  "  For  the  holy  apostle  says,  Is  any  afQicted 
among  you,  let  him  pray ;  is  any  merry,  let  him  sing 
praises."  Dem.  Evang.  iii.  5  :  "Afterwards  James,  the 
brother  of  our  Lord,  who  was  of  those  that  formerly 
dwelt  at  Jerusalem,  and  was  called  the  Just  on  account 
of  the  excellence  of  his  virtue,  being  interrogated  by 
the  high  priest  and  the  magistrates  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion as  to  what  opinion  he  had  concerning  Christ,  when 
he  answered  plainly,  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  they 
put  him  to  death  by  stoning. 

E.  II.  i.  12 :  from  Clement  of  Alexandria.  "The 
names  of  our  Saviour's  apostles  are  sufficiently  obvi- 
ous to  every  one,  from  his  Gospels ;  but  of  the  seventy 
disciples,  no  catalogue  is  given  anywhere.  Barnabas, 
indeed  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  them,  of  whom 
there  is  distinguished  notice  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 


THE   SEVEN   CATHOLIC    EPISTLES.  397 

ties ;  and  also  in  St.  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
Sosthenes,  who  sent  letters  with  Paul  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans, is  said  to  have  been  one  of  these.  Clement,  in 
the  fifth  of  his  Hypotyposes  or  Institutions,  in  which 
he  also  mentions  Cephas,  of  whom  Paul  also  says,  that 
he  came  to  Antioch,  and  "that  he  withstood  him  to  his 
face ;" — says,  that  one  who  had  the  same  name  with 
Peter  the  apostle,  was  one  of  the  seventy ;  and  that 
Matthias,  who  was  numbered  with  the  apostles  in  place 
of  Judas,  and  he  who  had  been  honoured  to  be  a  can- 
didate with  him,  is  also  said  to  have  been  deemed 
worthy  of  the  same  calling  with  the  seventy.  They 
also  say  that  Thaddeus  was  one  of  them ;  concerning 
whom,  I  shall  presently  relate  a  narrative  that  has 
come  down  to  us.  Moreover,  if*  any  one  observe  with 
attention,  he  will  find  more  disciples  of  our  Saviour 
than  the  seventy,  on  the  testimony  of  Paul,  who  says, 
that  "he  appeared  after  his  resurrection,  first  to  Cephas, 
then  to  the  twelve,  and  after  these  to  five  hundred 
•brethren  at  once."  Of  whom,  he  says,  "some  are 
fallen  asleep,"  but  the  greater  part  were  living  at  the 
time  he  wrote.  Afterwards,  he  says,  he  appeared  to 
James ;  he,  however,  was  not  merely  one  of  these  dis- 
ciples of  our  Saviour,  but  he  was  one  of  his  brethren. 
Lastly,  when  beside  these,  there  still  was  a  considerable 
number  who  were  apostles  in  imitation  of  the  twelve, 
such  as  Paul  himself  was,  he  adds,  saying  "afterwards 
he  appeared  to  all  the  apostles." 

E.  H.  ii.  1.  Then  also  James,  called  the  brother  of 
our  Lord,  because  he  is  also  called  the  son  of  Joseph. 
For  Joseph  was  esteemed  the  father  of  Christ,  because 
the  Virgim  being  betrothed  to  him,   "  she  was  found 


398  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

with  child  by  the  Holy  Ghost  before  they  came  to- 
gether," as  the  narrative  of  the  Holy  Gospels  shows. 
This  James,  therefore,  whom  the  ancients,  on  account 
of  the  excellence  of  his  virtue,  surnamed  the  Just,  was 
the  first  that  received  the  episcopate  of  the  church  at 
Jerusalem.  But  Clement,  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  In- 
stitutions, represents  it  thus  :  "Peter,  and  James,  and 
John,  after  the  ascension  of  our  Saviour,  though  they 
had  been  preferred  by  our  Lord,  did  not  contend  for 
the  honour,  but  chose  James  the  Just  as  bishop  of  Je- 
rusalem." And  the  same  author,  in  the  seventh  book 
of  the  same  work,  writes  thus:  "The  Lord  imparted 
the  gift  of  knowledge  to  James  the  Just,  to  John  and 
Peter  after  his  resurrection,  these  delivered  it  to  the 
rest  of  the  apostles,  and  they  to  the  seventy,  of  whom 
Barnabas  was  one.  There  were,  however,  two  Jameses ; 
one  called  the  Just,  who  was  thrown  fi'om  a  wing  of 
the  temple,  and  beaten  to  death  with  a  fuller's  club, 
and  another,  who  was  beheaded.  Paul  also  makes 
mention  of  the  Just  in  his  epistles.  "But  other  of  the 
apostles,"  says  he,  "saw  I  none,  save  James  the  broth- 
er of  our  Lord." 

E.  H.  ii.  23.  After  giving  from  the  ancients  a  minute 
account  of  the  acts  and  martyrdom  of  James,  he  con- 
cludes as  follows :  "  These  accounts  are  given  respect- 
ing James,  who  is  said  to  have  written  the  first  of  the 
epistles  general,  (catholic ; )  but  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  some  consider  it  spurious.  Not  many  indeed  of 
the  ancients  have  mentioned  it,  and  not  even  that  call- 
ed the  epistle  of  Judc,  which  is  also  one  of  the  seven 
called  catholic  epistles.  Nevertheless  we  know,  that 
these,  with  the  rest,  are  publicly  used  in  most  of  the 
churches." 


THE    SEVEN    CATHOLIC    EPISTLES.  399 


THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

Peter  was  among  the  first,  and  most  zealous  of  the 
twelve  apostles  of  Christ,  (John  i.  43-45,  Matt.  iv.  18, 
xviii.  2) ;  and  after  the  resurrection,  took  a  leading  part 
in  the  formation  and  guidance  of  the  Christian  Church, 
being  the  first  to  form  a  church  out  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity, and  the  first  to  admit  the  Gentiles  also  with- 
out requiring  of  them  circumcision.  (Acts  i-xi).  After 
his  miraculous  deliverance  from  prison  by  the  help  of 
the  angel,  he  left  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xii.),  and  does  not 
appear  again  till  the  council  was  called  at  Jerusalem  to 
consider  the  case  of  the  Gentile  converts,  (Acts  xv.), 
where  he  decidedly  took  the  liberal  side.  We  are  in- 
formed by  the  apostle  Paul,  that  he  afterwards  at  An- 
tioch  yielded  again  for  a  while  to  his  Jewish  preju- 
dices, and  brought  upon  himself  in  consequence  a 
sharp  rebuke.  (Col.  ii).  He  was  the  apostle  to  the 
Jews  mainly,  as  Paul  was  to  the  Gentiles.  His  field  of 
labor  was  principally  in  the  East,  he  directs  his  epistle 
to  the  Christians  of  the  East,  (1  Pet.  i.  1),  and  dates 
it  from  Babylon  the  old  Chaldean  metropolis.  (1  Pet. 
V.  13).  There  is  no  reason  for  understanding  the  word 
Babylon  here  in  any  other  than  its  literal  sense.  It  is 
only  the  anxiety  of  some  to  give  Peter  a  long  resi- 
dence at  Rome,  that  ever  imagined  here  a  spiritual 
Babylon,  that  is  Rome. 

It  is  sufficiently  attested  by  Christian  antiquity  that 
Peter  visited  Rome,  preached  there,  and  there  suffer- 
ed martyrdom ;  but  that  he  ever  made  any  long  stay 
in  that  city,  or  ever  saw  it  till  quite  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  does  not  appear.     Indeed  a  careful  inspection 


400  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  the  narrative  in  Acts  and  of  the  epistles  of  Paul  to 
the  Romans,  leads  us  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  did  not  visit  Rome  till  after  that  epistle  was  written. 
This  whole  subject  is  very  ably  and  satisfactorily  dis- 
cussed by  Prof  Tholuck  in  the  introduction  to  his 
commentary  on  Romans. 

There  are  no  suflfiicient  data  for  assigning  the  date 
of  this  epistle.  It  was  probably  written  after  Peter's 
first  missionary  tour  though  the  East,  and  before  Paul 
to  the  Romans,  perhaps  as  early  as  A.  D.  55  or  58. 

The  epistle  is  full  of  Christian  love  and  sympathy, 
wholly  of  a  practical  nature,  and  so  miscellaneous  in 
its  character  as  scarcely  to  be  susceptible  of  a  logical 
analysis,  nor  is  such  an  analysis  necessary  to  guide 
the  reader  in  the  study  of  it. 

After  a  reference  to  the  blessed  future  which  awaits 
the  true  Christian,  (i.  3-12),  he  exhorts  believers  to  a 
pure  and  holy  life  worthy  of  their  calling,  (i,  14,  ii.  12), 
especially  to  an  observance  of  all  their  civil,  social, 
and  domestic  duties,  (ii.  13,  iii.  12),  and  in  view  of 
the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ  to  bear  patiently  the 
slanders  and  persecutions  to  which  they  were  subject- 
ed, (iii.  13,  iv.  19).  Finally,  particular  exhortations 
to  elders  and  private  Christians,  (v.  1-9),  together 
with  concluding  greetings,  (v.  10-14). 

The  genuineness  of  the  epistle  has  always  been  ad- 
mitted, and  the  testimonies  to  it  are  uniform  from  the 
very  beginning. 

TESTIMONIES  TO   I.    PETER. 

Clement  of  Rome.  "  Love  hideth  a  multitude  of 
sins.     1  Pet.  iv.  8. 


THE    SEVEN    CATHOLIC    EPISTLES.  401 

Pastor  Hermas.     Vis.  x.  2.     "Cast  your  cares  on 
the  Lord  and  he  will  direct  them."  1  Pet.  v.  9. 

Polycarp.  Ad  Philip,  c.  1.     "In  whom,   not  seeing, 
ye  believe,  and  believing  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full   of  glory."     1   Pet.   i.    8.     Ihid.    c.    2. 
"Wherefore  girding  up  your  loins,  serve  God  in  fear 
and  truth,   believing  in  Him  who  raised  up  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  and  gave  him  glory  and 
a  seat  at  His  right  hand."  Pet.  i.  13,  21.     Ihid.  c.  10. 
"Having  your  conversation  honest  among  the  Gentiles, 
that  you  may  have  praise  for  your  good  works  and  the 
Lord  be  not  blasphemed."  1  Pet.  ii.  12.     Ihid.  c.  8. 
"Let  us  therefore  unwaveringly  persevere  in  our  hope 
and  in  the  earnest  of  our  righteousness,  which  is  Christ 
Jesus,  who  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
who  did  not  sin  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth, 
but  on  our  account  and  that  we  might  live  in  him,  en- 
dured all  things  ;  wherefore  let  us  be  imitators  of  his 
patience,  and  if  we  suffer  on  account  of  his  name,  we 
glorify  him."  1  Pet.  ii.   21-24.     Ihid.  c.  2.   "Not  ren- 
dering evil  for  evil  nor  cursing  for  cursing."     1  Pet. 
iii.   9. 

"Who  comes  the  judge  of  quick  and  dead."  1  Pet. 
iv.  5.  c.  7.  "Watching  unto  prayer."  1  Pet.  iv.  7. 
c.  10.  "Be  ye  all  subject  one  to  another."  1  Pet.  v.  5. 
Uusehius.  E.  H.  iv.  14.  "Polycarp,  indeed,  in  his 
epistle  to  the  Philipians  which  is  extant,  uses  testimo- 
nies from'  the  first  epistle  to  Peter." 

Papias.    Eusebius  E.  H.  iii.  39.     "Papias  uses  testi- 
monies taken  from  the  first  epistle  of  Peter." 

Letter  to  Diognetus.     "He  gave  his  own  son  a  ran- 
som for  us,  the  just  for  the  unjust."  1  Pet.  iii.  13. 
2G 


402  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Letters  of  the  Churches  of  Vienne  and  Lyons.  Euseb. 
E.  H.  V.  2.  "They  humbled  themselves  under  the 
mighty  hand  by  which  they  are  now  powerfully  exalt- 
ed." 1  Pet.  V.  6. 

Lrenaeus.  iv.  9.  "Peter  says  in  his  epistle,  whom 
not  seeing  ye  love,  in  whom,  not  seeing  him  now,  ye 
believe,  and  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable."  1  Pet.  i.  8. 
16.  "On  this  account  Peter  says,  have  not  j^our  liber- 
ty as  a  cloak  of  maliciousness."  1  Pet.  ii.  16. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Strom,  iv.  "But  if  ye  suf- 
fer for  righteousness  sake,  says  Peter,  happy  are  ye, 
and  be  not  afraid  of  their  terror,  neither  be  troubled ; 
but  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts ;  and  be 
ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that 
asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  with 
meekness  and  fear.  Having  a  good  conscience ;  that, 
whereas  they  speak  evil  of  you,  as  of  evil-doers,  they 
may  be  ashamed  that  falsely  accuse  your  good  conver- 
sation in  Christ.  For  it  is  better,  if  the  will  of  God 
be  so,  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing,  than  for  evil-doing." 
1  Pet.  iii.  14-17.  Paed.  i.  "And  so  Peter  also  says, 
wherefore  laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  and 
hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speakings,  as  new- 
born babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby  :  if  so  be  ye  have  tasted  that 
Christ  is  the  Lord."  1  Pet.  ii.  1-3. 

Tertullian.  Scorpiac.  c.  12.  "Indeed  Peter  says  to 
them  of  Pontus,  How  great  is  the  glory,  if  ye  bear  it, 
when  ye  are  punished  not  as  delinquents.  For  this  is 
grace  and  in  this  ye  were  called."  1  Pet.  i.  21.  c.  14. 
"Peter  says  the  king  is  to  be  honored." 

Origen.  Comment,  in  Matth.  xv.     "From  the  first 


THE    SEVEN    CATHOLIC    EPISTLES.  403 

epistle  of  Peter Peter  says,  in  whom,   that  is 

Christ,  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing  ye 
rejoice."  1  Pet.  i.  8. 

De  Princip.  2.  "They  do  not  read  what  is  written 
concerning  the  hope  of  those  who  were  taken  oiF  by 
the  flood,  concerning  which  hope  Peter  says  in  his 
first  epistle,  Christ  indeed  was  put  to  death  in '  the 
flesh,  but  quickened  in  the  spirit:  By  which  also 
he  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison  ;  which 
sometime  were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long-suffer- 
ing of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark 
was  a  preparing,  wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were 
saved  by  water."  1  Pet.  iii.  18-20.  On  Psalm  third 
Origen  again  quotes  the  same  passage  at  length. 

Comment,  in  Joan.  vi.  "And  concerning  that  jour- 
ney in  the  spirit  to  the  prison,  in  the  catholic  epistle, 
with  Peter,  put  to  death  he  says  in  the  flesh,  but  made 
alive  in  the  spirit." 

Cyprian.  De  bon.  pat.  "Peter  also  on  whom  in 
the  estimation  of  the  Lord  the  church  is  founded,  de- 
clares in  his  epistle,  Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leaving 
us  an  example,  that  we  should  follow  his  steps :  Who 
did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth : 
Who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again ;  when 
he  suffered,  he  threatened  not ;  but  committed  himself 
to  him  that  judgeth  righteously."  1  Pet.  ii.  21-23. 
Epist.  58.  "Peter  also  the  apostle  taught  that  persecu- 
tions would  be  experienced,  in  order  that  we  might 

be  proved for  he  states  in  his  epistle  saying, 

Beloved,  think  it  not  strange,  concerning  the  fiery  trial 
which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  hap- 
pened unto  you :  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  par- 


404  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

takers  of  Christ's  sufferings ;  that  when  his  glory  shall 
be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy. 
If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy 
are  ye ;  for  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  up- 
on you.  On  their  part  he  is  evil  syoken  of,  but  on 
your  part  he  is  glorified."  1  Pet.  iv.  12-14. 

Eusehius.  H.  E.  iii.  4.  "And  also  in  what  provin- 
ces Peter,  preaching  Christ  to  those  of  the  circum- 
cision, delivered  to  them  the  doctrine  of  the  new  cov- 
enant, may  be  clearly  ascertained  from  that  epistle, 
which,  as  I  have  said,  is  by  all  and  without  controversy 
ascribed  to  him,  which  he  writes  to  those  of  the  He- 
brews who  are  dispersed  through  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cap- 
padocia,  Asia  and  Bithyuia." 

Athanasius,  Epist.  ad  Scrap.  "Peter  also  writes, 
receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of 
your  souls.  Of  which  salvation  the  prophets  have  in- 
quired and  searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the 
grace  that  should  come  unto  you  :  Searching  what,  or 
what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was 
In  them  did  signify,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow.'' 
1  Pet.  i.  9-11. 

Einphanius.  vii.  "For  says  the  Scripture,  Christ 
suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh ;  and  again,  being  put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,  but  made  alive  in  the  spirit."  1  Pet. 
iv.  1,  iii.  18. 

Jerome.  Catal.  Script.  1.  "Simon  Peter  wrote 
two  epistles,  which  are  called  catholic,  of  which  the 
second  is  by  many  doubted,  on  account  of  its  diver- 
sity in  style  from  the  first." 

Epist.  120.     "And  finally  the  two  epistles  which  are 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  405 

called  Peter's  are  diverse  in  style  and  character  and 
the  structure  of  words;  from  which  we  may  under- 
stand that  he  made  use  of  different  interpreters,  ac- 
cording to  the  exigencies  in  different  circumstan- 
ces." 

Ihid^  E.  H.  V.  1.  "A  wonderful  interposition  of 
God  was  then  exhibited,  and  the  boundless  mercy  of 
Christ  clearly  displayed,  a  thing  that  had  rarely  happen- 
ed among  the  brethren,  but  by  no  means  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  skill  of  Christ.  For  those  that  had  fallen 
from  the  faith  on  the  first  seizure,  were  also  themselves 
imprisoned,  and  shared  in  the  sufferings  of  the  rest. 
This  renunciation  did  them  no  good  at  this  time,  but 
those  that  confessed  what  they  really  were,  were  im- 
prisoned as  Christians  ;  no  other  charge  being  alleged 
against  them.  But  these,  at  last,  were  confined  a^ 
murderers  and  guilty  culprits,  and  were  punished  with 
twice  the  severity  of  the  rest.  The  former,  indeed, 
were  refreshed  by  the  joy  of  martyrdom,  the  hope  of 
the  promises,  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
Father ;  but  the  latter  were  sadly  tormented  by  their 
own  conscience.  So  that  the  difference  was  obvious 
to  all  in  their  very  countenances,  when  they  were  led 
forth.  For  the  one  went  on  joyful,  much  glory  and 
grace  being  mixed  in  their  faces,  so  that  their  bonds 
seemed  to  form  noble  ornaments,  and,  like  those  of  a 
bride,  adorned  with  various  golden  bracelets,  and  im- 
pregnated with  the  sweet  odour  of  Christ,  they  ap- 
peared to  some  anointed  with  earthly  perfumes.  But 
the  others,  with  downcast  look,  dejected,  sad,  and  cov- 
ered with  every  kind  of  shame,  in  addition  to  this, 


406  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

were  reproached  by  the  heathen  as  mean  and  cowardly, 
bearing  the  charge  of  murderers,  and  losing  the  hon- 
ourable, glorious,  and  life-giving  appellation  of  Chris- 
tians. The  rest,  however,  seeing  these  effects,  were 
so  much  the  more  confirmed,  and  those  that  were 
taken  immediately,  confessed,  not  even  admitting 
the  thought  suggested  by  diabolical  objections."  In- 
troducing some  further  remarks  they  again  proceed : 
'After  these  things  their  martyrdom  was  finally  distri- 
buted into  various  kinds ;  for  platting  and  constituting 
one  crown  of  various  colours  and  all  kinds  of  flowers, 
they  offer  it  to  the  Father.  It  was  right,  indeed,  that 
these  noble  wrestlers,  who  had  sustained  a  diversified 
contest,  and  come  off  with  a  glorious  victory,  should 
bear  away  the  great  crown  of  immortality.'  "  1  Peter 
iv.  13-16. 

THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER. 

This  epistle  claims  most  distinctly  to  have  been 
written  by  the  apostle  Peter,  the  author  of  the  first 
epistle,  and  that  too  in  near  view  of  death,  the  death 
of  a  martyr  (i.  1,  14-18,  iii.  1,  13).  The  whole  tone 
and  bearing  of  the  epistle  are  in  exact  accordance 
with  this  claim.  Its  sentiment  is  elevated,  pure,  sweet, 
Christ-like,  most  admirably  appropriate  to  the  position 
claimed,  and  scarcely  equaled  in  the  Bible  itself  except 
by  the  address  of  Paul  to  Timothy  in  like  circumstan- 
ces. Ptead  the  words  i.  14-18 :  "  Yea,  I  think  it  meet, 
as  long  as  I  am  in  tliis  tabernacle,  to  stir  you  up  by 
putting  you  in  remembrance ;  knowing  that  shortly  I 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  407 

must  put  off  this  my  tabernacle,  even  as  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hath  shewed  me.  Moreover  I  will  en- 
deavor that  ye  may  be  able  after  my  decease  to  have 
these  things  always  in  remembrance.  For  we  have 
not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when  we  made 
known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty. 
For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honor  and 
glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the 
excellent  glory.  This  is  my  beloved  son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased.  And  this  voice  which  came  from 
heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy 
mount."  And  compare  the  utterances  of  Paul.  2  Tim. 
iv.  6-8. 

To  me  it  seems  utterly  impossible  that  a  man  who 
was  practicing  a  deliberate  and  conscious  imposture 
could  feel  or  give  utterance  to  sentiments  like  these. 
The  internal  evidence  of  genuineness,  from  this  source 
alone,  is  morally  irresistible.  The  internal  evidence 
also  from  the  peculiar  use  of  single  words  in  the  two 
epistles  is  thoroughly  convincing.  Though  both  epis- 
tles are  very  short,  yet  there  are  striking  peculiarities 
of  language  the  same  in  both,  which  occur  nowhere 
else,  or  but  very  seldom  in  all  the  New  Testament. 
For  example  the  word  anoOeaig  (apotliesis)  is  found  in 
1  Pet.  iii.  21,  and  2  Pet.  i.  14,  in  the  same  sense,  and 
nowhere  else  in  all  the  New  Testament.  So  the  word 
aQETTj  (cirete)  occurs  in  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  and  2  Pet.  i.  3,  5,  and 
but  once  besides  in  all  the  New  Testament.  The  word 
aamlog  (^asj^tlos)^  1  Pct.  i.  19,  and  2  Pet.  iii.  14,  and  only 
twice  besides  in  all  the  New  Testament.  Again  the 
word  apuaTqocpi]  (aiiastroplie)  occurs   six   times   in   the 


408  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

first  of  Peter,  twice  in  the  second  of  Peter,  and  only 
once  besides  in  each  of  the  following  epistles,  to  wit, 
James,  1  Tim.,  Eph.  and  Gal.  In  ordinary  cases  these 
facts  alone  would  be  deemed  sufficient  to  establish  the 
identity  of  authorship. 

As  to  the  difference  of  style  of  which  Jerome  speaks, 
it  is  only  such  a  difference  and  exactly  such  a  differ- 
ence as  we  should  expect  in  an  apostle  in  the  full  vigor 
of  his  life  and  apostleship,  and  the  s£ime  apostle  at  the 
close  of  his  career  and  in  the  daily  expectation  of  mar- 
tyrdom ;  and  the  same  difference  which  we  find  be- 
tween the  second  of  Timothy  and  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans. 

Several  causes  contributed  to  render  its  reception  in 
the  ancient  churches  later  than  that  of  the  first  epistle. 

1.  It  was  addressed  mainly  to  obscure  churches, 
remote  from  the  great  lines  of  communication,  in  a 
region  strongly  suspected  of  heresy  (Euseb.  E.  H.  vi. 
20),  and  so  near  the  time  of  the  apostle's  death  that 
it  did  not  have  the  advantage  of  his  personal  presence 
and  authority. 

2.  It  related  to  a  state  of  things  which  was  not  fully 
developed  till  sometime  after  the  epistle  was  written. 
That  wliich  in  the  epistle  of  Jude  is  history,  is  in  2 
Pet.  ii.  pi'cdiction ;  in  Peter  the  verbs  are  in  the  future 
tense,  in  Jude  they  are  in  the  past  tense  ;  Peter  utters 
the  prophecy  and  Jude  records  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy.  This  one  fact  of  itself  is  decisive  of  the 
relation  as  to  time  between  Jude  and  2  Peter.  Com- 
pare 2  Pet.  ii.  1-3  and  Jude  vs.  4,  8,  10-13,  16,  19, 
22,  23. 

The  time  of  writing  was  near  the  apostle's  death. 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  409 

the  place  wholly  uncertain  as  there  are  no  data  to 
fix  it. 

The  course  of  thought  is  as  follows : 

The  apostle,  after  a  brief  introduction  and  an  ethical 
exhortation,  speaks  of  the  certainty  of  the  Christian 
doctrine  and  its  confirmation  especially  by  the  trans- 
figuration of  Christ  on  the  mountain  and  the  divine 
voice,  which  he  had  seen  and  heard,  and  also  by  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  (i.).  He  then  speaks 
of  the  teachers  of  error  who  would  afterwards  arise 
(ii.).  He  then  gives  assurance  that  notwithstanding 
the  vain  talk  of  those  "  whose  great  principle  it  is  that 
all  things  continue  as  they  were,  and  who  scorn  the 
notion  of  the  great  God  ever  coming  to  touch  the 
orderly  mechanism  of  the  universe '' — the  time  will 
come  for  a  miraculous  dissolution  and  reconstruction 
of  the  whole  present  system  of  things,  though,  since 
one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day,  we  have  no  ground  for 
affirming  anything  as  to  the  nearness  or  remoteness  of 
that  great  event,  thus  joining  with  the  apostle  Paul 
(2  Thess.  ii.)  in  rebuking  those  presumptuous  teachers, 
not  divinely  inspired,  who  even  in  that  age  insisted  on 
the  immediate  advent  of  Christ  as  necessary  to  the 
fulfillment  of  prophecy. 

TESTIMONIES  TO  IL  PETER. 

Clement  of  Rome^  ad  Cor.  i.  7,  11.  "  Noah  preached 
repentance ;  and  as  many  as  harkened  to  him  were 
saved.  Noah,  being  proved  to  be  faithful,  did  by  his 
ministry  preach  regeneration  to  the  world ;  and  the 
Lord  saved  by  him  all  the  living  creatures,  that  went 


410  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

with  one  accord  together  into  the  ark.  By  hospitality 
and  godliness  was  Lot  saved  out  of  Sodom,  when  all 
the  country  round  about  was  destroyed  by  fire  and 
brimstone :  the  Lord  thereby  making  it  manifest,  that 
he  will  not  forsake  those  that  trust  in  him ;  but  will 
bring  the  disobedient  to  punishment  and  correction. 
For  his  wife,  who  went  out  with  him,  being  of  a 
different  mind,  and  not  continuing  in  the  same  obedi- 
ence, was  for  that  reason  set  forth  for  an  example, 
being  turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt  unto  this  day."  2  Pet. 
il.  5  ff. 

Shepherd  of  Hermas^  Yis.  iii.  7.  "  There  are  those 
who  believed,  but  by  their  hesitation  forsook  the  true 
way."  2  Pet.  ii.  15.  iv.  3  :  "Ye  are  they  who  escape 
from  this  Avorld."  2  Pet.  ii.  20. 

Justin  Martyr,  Dial.  p.  303.  "  We  know  the  say- 
ing, one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
pertaining  to  this."  2  Pet.  iii.  8. 

Theophilus,  ad  Autol.  ii.  "But  men  of  God,  full 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  inspired  by  God,  were  ap- 
pointed prophets,  and  were  taught  of  God,  holy  and 
righteous."  2  Pet.  i.  10. 

Origen,  Comment,  in  Epist.  ad  Rom.  viii.  "And 
Peter  says  in  his  epistle,  Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied 
unto  you  in  the  knowledge  of  God — and  again.  As 
good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God."  2  Pet. 
i.  2,  1  Pet.  iv.  10.  llom.  in  Levit.  iv.  :  "And  again  Pe- 
ter says,  Ye  are  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature." 
2  Pet.  i.  4.  Ilom.  in  Num.  xiii. :  "As  the  Scripture 
also  says  in  the  passage.  The  dumb  animal,  speaking 
with  a,  human  voice,  rebuked  the  madness  of  the 
prophet."    2  Pet.  ii.  IG.     llom.  in  Exod.  xii. :   "For  I 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  411 

know  it  is  written,  of  whom  any  one  is  overcome,  of 
the  same  is  he  brought  into  bondage."  2  Pet.  ii.  19. 
Dial,  cle  rect.  Fide.  ii.  :  "  But  the  apostle  is  mentioned 
by  Peter,  according  to  the  wisdom,  he  says,  given  to 
my  brother  Paul."   2  Pet.  iii.  15. 

Firmilianus^  Ep.  ad  Cyp.  75.  "  Defaming  the  blessed 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  ....  who  in  their  epistles 
execrated  the  heretics,  and  admonished  us  to  avoid 
them."  2  Pet.  ii. 

Atltanasius^  Dial,  de  Sac.  Trin.  i.  "And  it  is  written 
in  the  Catholic  epistles,  whereby  are  given  unto  us  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises,  that  ye  may  be 
made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature."  2  Pet.  i.  4. 
Cont.  Arian.  Orat.  ii. :  "And  this  is  what  Peter  says, 
that  ye  may  be  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature." 
2  Pet.  i.  4. 

Eijiphanius^  Haer.  Ixvi.  "Which  Peter  indicates 
in  his  epistle  by  these  words.  Giving  heed  to  the  pro- 
phetic word  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  daystar  arise  in  your 
hearts."  2  Pet.  i.  19. 

Jerome.     See  testimonies  to  1  Peter. 

Melito.  "At  another  time  there  was  a  flood  of  water, 
and  the  just  were  preserved  in  an  ark  of  wood  by  the 
ordinance  of  God.  So  also  it  will  be  at  the  last  time ; 
there  will  be  a  flood  of  fire  and  the  earth  shall  be 
burned  up,  .  .  .  and  the  just  shall  be  delivered  from 
the  fray,  like  their  fellows  in  the  ark  from  the  waters 
of  the  deluge."  2  Pet.  iii.  5,  6,  10-12.  Home's  Introd. 
iv.  p.  606,  tenth  edition. 


412  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN. 

There  is  no  reasonable  doubt,  there  never  has  been 
any,  that  the  first  epistle  ascribed  to  John  in  the  New 
Testament,  is  a  genuine  production  of  that  apostle  and 
evangelist.  The  internal  evidence  is  conclusive,  and 
the  external  testimony  unanimous  and  uncontradicted. 
If  we  have  evidence  that  the  Tusculan  Questions  be- 
long to  Cicero,  we  have  evidence  still  stronger  (if  pos- 
sible) that  this  epistle  belongs  to  the  bosom  friend  of 
Jesus.  It  is  true  that  the  passage  v.  7,  is  not  found  in 
any  of  the  early  Greek  manuscripts  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  we  may  admit  it  to  be  an  interpolation 
without  any  prejudice  to  the  integrity  of  the  epistle. 
There  is  no  internal  evidence  against  the  passage,  it  is 
quite  in  place  where  it  stands,  it  is  quite  in  the  style 
and  manner  of  John ;  but  there  is  a  lack  of  external 
testimony  in  its  favor ;  and  on  all  such  questions  the 
internal  and  external  must  co-operate  to  produce  a 
decision. 

There  are  no  data  to  determine  positively  the  time  or 
place  of  writing  or  the  particular  persons  to  whom  the 
epistle  was  at  first  addressed ;  but  all  the  probabilities 
are  that  it  was  written  at  Ephesus  after  the  publication 
of  the  Gospel,  consequently  at  a  late  period  of  life,  and 
addressed  especially  to  the  churches  with  which  he 
was  personally  conversant  in  Asia  Minor  and  the 
vicinity.  It  is  full  of  the  loveliness  of  the  Gospel,  and 
while  the  Boanerges  is  clearly  seen  in  its  pages,  the 
predominating  qualities  are  clearly  those  which  made 
John  the  disciple  tvhom  Jesus  loved. 

According  to»  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  mod^ 


HE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  413 

ern  commentators  on  John,  after  the  introduction  (i. 
1-4),  there  are  two  principal  sections,  each  pervaded 
by  a  single  master-thought,  and  both  tending  to  illus- 
trate the  leading  subject  of  the  whole,  to  wit,  fellow- 
ship with  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
1.  The  theme  (i.  5-ii.  28)  is,  God  is  light.  2.  God  is 
righteous  (ii.  29-v.  5).  3.  The  conclusion,  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God  and  the  eternal  Life, 

TESTIMONIES  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN. 

Ignatius^  ad  Magnes.  c.  6.  "  Being  intrusted  with 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  before  the  ages  was 
with  the  Father  and  in  the  end  was  manifested." 
1  John  i.  2. 

Poly  carp  ^  ad  Phil.  c.  7.  "  For  every  one  who  doth 
not  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  hath  come  in  the  flesh  is 
anti-Christ."  1  John  iv.  3. 

Papias^  Euseb.  H,  E.  iii.  39.  "He  used  testimonies 
taken  from  the  first  epistle  of  John."  Papias,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  a  pupil  of  John  himself 

Epistle  to  D log netus.  "For  God  loved  men  .  .  .  . 
to  whom  He  sent  His  only  begotten  Son,  to  whom  also 
He  promised  the  kingdom  in  heaven,  and  to  those  who 

love  Him  will  He  give  it How  greatly  should 

you  love  Him  who  first  so  loved  you !  "  1  John  iv.  9. 

Irenaeus^  iii.  16.  "Because  that  John  also  testified 
to  us  in  his  epistle.  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time ; 
and  as  ye  have  heard  that  antichrist  shall  come,  even 
now  are  there  many  antichrists ;  whereby  we  know 
that  it  is  the  last  time.  They  went  out  from  us,  but 
they  were  not  of  us;  for  if  they  had  been  of  us, 
they  would  no  doubt  have  continued  with  us :  but 


414  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

tliey  went  out,  that  they  might  be  made  manifest  that 
they  were  not  all  of  us.  Wherefore  know  that  every 
lie  is  extraneous  and  is  not  of  the  truth.  Who  is  a  liar 
but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ?  He  is 
antichrist,  that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son."  "And 
again  he  says  in  the  epistle,  Many  false  prophets  are 
gone  out  into  the  world.  In  this  know  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Every  spirit  which  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ 
has  come  in  the  flesh,  is  of  God.  And  every  spirit 
which  says  Jesus  is  not  of  God,  is  of  antichrist." 
1  John  iv.  1-3.  "  Wherefore  he  again  says  in  his  epis- 
tle, Every  one  who  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
is  born  of  God."  1  John  v.  1.  Euseb.  H.  E.  v.  8  :  "He 
also  (Irenaeus)  makes  mention  of  the  first  epistle  of 
John,  bringing  very  many  testimonies  from  it." 

Clement  of  Alexandria^  Paed.  iii.  "But  this  is  the 
love  of  God,  says  John,  that  we  keep  his  command- 
ments, .  .  .  and  his  commandments  are  not  grievous." 
1  John  V.  3.  Strom,  ii.  :  "  John  also  appears  in  his 
larger  epistle,  teaching  the  differences  of  sins  in  these 
words,  If  any  one  seeth  his  brother  sinning  a  sin  which 
is  not  unto  death,  he  may  pray  and  he  will  give  him 
life.  He  says  to  those  sinning  not  unto  death.  For 
there  is  a  sin  unto  death.  He  does  not  say  that  any 
one  should  pray  concerning  that."  1  John  v.  16. 

Tertullian^  Scorp.  c.  12.  "But  John  exhorts  that 
we  should  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren,  denying 
that  there  is  any  fear  in  love."  1  John  iii.  16,  iv.  18. 
Adv.  Prax.  c.  15:  "And  finally  let  us  look  upon  him 
whom  the  apostle  saw.  What  we  have  seen,  says  John, 
what  we  have  heard,  what  we  have  seen  witli  our  eyes 
and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the  word  of  life,  for  the 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.         415 

word  was  made  flesli."  1  John  i.  1.  c.  25:  Which 
three  are  one  (unuiii)^  not  one  person  (imus) ;  as  it 
is  said,  I  and  the  Father  are  one  (unurri)^  as  to  unity 
of  substance  not  as  to  singleness  of  number."  1  John 
V.  7,  8. 

Origen^  De  Orat.  "As  John  says  in  the  catholic  epis- 
tle, he  is  of  the  Devil,  for  the  Devil  sinneth  from  the 
beginning."  1  John  iii.  8.  Comment  in  Evan.  Joan, 
xix  •  "  John  in  the  Catholic  epistle  saying  these  things, 
he  that  denieth  the  Father  denieth  also  the  Son ;  for 
every  one  who  denieth  the  Son,  neither  hath  he  the 
Father."  1  John  ii.  22.  ii :  "  But  in  the  Catholic  epis- 
tle of  John  himself  it  is  said,  God  is  light." 

Cyprian.,  Epist,  28.  "And  the  apostle  John  .... 
in  his  epistle  says.  In  this  we  understand  that  we  know 
Him,  if  we  keep  His  commandments.  He  who  says 
that  he  knows  Him,  and  keeps  not  His  commandments, 
is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him."  1  John  ii.  3,  4. 
Epist.  69  :  "And  also  John  the  blessed  apostle,  .  .  . 
Ye  have  heard  that  Anti-Christ  cometh,  and  now  there 
are  many  Anti-Christs,  whence  we  know  it  is  the  last 
time.  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of 
us :  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt  have 
remained  with  us."  1  John  ii.  18,  19.  De  Bon.  Pat. : 
"As  John  the  apostle  teaches,  he  who  says  he 
abides  in  Christ  ought  himself  to  walk  as  He  also 
walked."  1  Johnii.  6. 

Athanasms,  Cont.  Ar.  Orat.  5.  "But  that  the  Son 
did  not  have  beginning  of  existence,  but  was  always 
in  the  Father  before  He  became  man,  the  apostle  John 
declares,  saying  in  his  first  epistle.  That  which  was 
from  the  beginning,  which  we  have  heard,  which  vf  e 


416  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon, 
and  our  hands  have  handled,  of  the  Word  of  life ; 
for  the  life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen  it,  and 
bear  witness,  and  shew  unto  you  that  eternal  life  which 
was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us. 
Epist.  ad  Scrap. :  "And  John  writes  in  his  epistle,  by 
this  we  know  that  we  abide  in  Him,  and  He  in  us,  be- 
cause He  has  given  unto  us  of  His  Spmt."  1  John 
iii.  24. 

THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  EPISTLES  OF  JOHN. 

These  two  letters  are  very  short,  they  are  addressed 
to  private  individuals,  and  are  not  of  any  particular 
dogmatic  interest.  They  were  therefore  late  in  getting 
into  circulation  as  a  part  of  the  New  Testament  Scrip- 
tures, the  ancient  church  exercising  great  caution  on 
this  subject,  as  we  see  in  the  example  of  2  Peter. 
Eventually  they  were  universally  acknowledged. 

The  second  epistle  is  addressed  to  a  Christian  woman 
by  the  name  of  Kuria  or  Latinzed  Cyria.  It  is  a 
mistake  in  tlie  English  translation  to  render  this  word 
lady.  The  epistle  begins.  The  Elder  to  the  elect  Cyria 
and  her  cJiildren,  whom  I  love  in  the  truth '^  exactly  as 
the  third  epistle  begins,  The  Elder  to  the  beloved  Gains 
whom  I  love  in  the  truth.  Both  introductions  are  ex- 
ceedingly characteristic  of  the  apostle  John,  who  here 
styles  himself  eZc?er,  just  as  Peter  does  (1  Pet.  v.  1.),  on 
account  of  his  advanced  age  and  his  position  in  the 
church.  Who  this  Cyria  was  we  have  now  no  means 
of  ascertaining ;  but  John  exhorts  her  to  persevere  in 
CJiristian  charity  and  to  beware  of  false  teachers,  and 
gives  her  the  hope  of  soon  receiving  a  visit  from  him. 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  417 

Of  Gains  he  commends  the  hospitality,  warns  him 
against  Diotrephes  and  commends  to  him  Demetrius. 
There  is  a  Gains  mentioned  by  Paul  (Rom.  xvi.  23,  com- 
pare 1  Cor.  i.  14)  as  the  entertainer  of  himself  and  the 
whole  church  at  Corinth,  and  therefore  a  very  hospita- 
ble person,  and  the  name  also  occurs  in  Acts  xix.  29 
and  XX.  4 ;  but  there  is  no  certainty  whether  any  of 
these  were  the  Gains  to  whom  John  wrote.  There  is 
an  ancient  tradition  that  this  Gains  was  a  personal 
friend  of  the  apostle,  who  brought  his  Gospel  from  the 
island  of  Patmos  to  the  churches.  Gaius  is  the  same 
name  as  Cains. 

TESTIMONIES  TO  THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  EPISTLES  OF  JOHN. 

Irenaeus^  iii.  16.  "And  John  his  disciple,  in  the 
aforesaid  epistle,  commands  that  we  should  avoid  them, 
saying.  For  many  deceivers  are  entered  into  the  world, 
who  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh. 
This  is  a  deceiver  and  an  antichrist.  Look  to  your- 
selves that  ye  lose  not  those  things  which  ye  have 
wrought."  2  John  7,  8.  i.  16:  "For  John,  the  disci- 
ple of  the  Lord,  pronounces  a  curse  upon  them,  and 
wills  not  that  we  should  bid  them  God  speed,  saying, 
Whoever  bids  them  God  speed  is  a  partaker  of  their 
evil  deeds."  2  John  4. 

Clement  of  Alexandria^  ad  Numb.  "  The  second 
epistle  of  John,  which  is  the  most  simple,  is  written 
to  virgins." 

Eiisehius^  Dem.  Evang.  iii.  5.  "And  John  also  you 
will  find  like  to  Matthew,  for  in  his  epistle  he  does  not 
mention  his  own  name,  but  calls  himself  the  elder ^ 
never  the  apostle  or  evangelist.     And  in  the  Gospel 


^1 


418  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

when  lie  speaks  of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  he 
does  not  reveal  himself  by  name. 

Epiplianiiis^  xxxiv.  "But  John,  the  disciple  of 
Christ,  condemns  them  with  a  greater  punishment, 
when  he  does  not  suffer  us  even  to  salute  them,  for  who- 
ever, says  he,  bids  them  God  speed,  is  a  partaker  of 
their  evil  deeds."  2  John  4. 

Jerome^  Epist.  Evang.  "  The  son  of  thunder,  whom 
Jesus  especially  loved,  who  drank  streams  of  doctrine 
from  the  breast  of  the  Saviour,  sounds  with  the  Gos- 
pel trumpet,  The  Elder  to  the  woman  elect  of  the  Lord, 
etc.,  and  in  the  other  epistle.     The  Elder  to  Caius. 

THE    EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

Jude  was  the  brother  of  James,  the  author  of  the 
first  Catholic  epistle,  who  presided  over  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  for  many  years ;  and  consequently  he  was 
a  younger  son  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus.  A  very 
interesting  incident  respecting  his  grandsons  is  pre- 
served to  us  by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  iii.  20),  from  the  his- 
torian Hegesippus : 

"  There  were  yet  living  of  the  family  of  our  Lord, 
the  grandchildren  of  Judas,  called  the  brother  of  our 
Lord,  according  to  the  flesh.  These  were  reported  as 
being  of  the  family  of  David,  and  were  brought  to 
Domitian  by  the  Evocatus.  For  this  emperor  was  as 
much  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of  Christ  as  Herod. 
He  put  the  question,  whether  they  were  of  David's 
race,  and  they  confessed  that  they  were.  He  then 
asked  them  what  property  they  had,  or  how  much 
money  they  owned.  And  both  of  them  answered, 
that  they  had  between  them  only  nine  thousand  dena- 


THE     SEVEN     CATHOLIC     EPISTLES.  419 

rii/^  and  this  they  had  not  in  silver,  but  in  the  value 
of  a  piece  of  land,  containing  only  thirty  nine  acres ; 
from  which  they  raised  their  taxes  and  supported  them- 
selves by  their  own  labour.  Then  they  also  began  to 
show  their  hands,  exhibiting  the  hardness  of  their 
bodies,  and  the  callosity  formed  by  incessant  labour 
on  their  hands,  as  evidence  of  their  own  labour. 
When  asked  also,  respecting  Christ  and  his  kingdom, 
what  was  its  nature,  and  when  and  where  it  was  to 
appear,  they  replied,  '  that  it  was  not  a  temporal  nor 
an  earthly  kingdom,  but  celestial  and  angelic ;  that  it 
would  appear  at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  coming 
in  glory  he  would  judge  the  quick  and  dead,  and  give 
to  every  one  according  to  his  works.'  Upon  which, 
Domitian  despising  them,  made  no  reply ;  but  treating 
them  with  contempt,  as  simpletons,  commanded  them 
to  be  dismissed,  and  by  a  decree  ordered  the  persecu- 
tion to  cease.  Thus  delivered  they  ruled  the  churches, 
both  as  witnesses  and  relatives  of  the  Lord.  When 
peace  was  established,  they  continued  living  even  to 
the  time  of  Trajan.  Such  is  the  statement  of  He- 
gesippus." 

But  little  is  known  of  the  life  and  labors  of  Jude. 
The  epistle  must  have  been  written  at  a  late  period, 
for  he  mentions  as  historical  facts  already  occurring, 
what  Peter,  in  his  second  epistle,  had  predicted  as  still 
future  at  the  time  when  he  was  writing  (2  Pet.  ii). 
The  late  date  of  the  epistle  and  the  fact  that  not  mucli 
was  known  in  the  great  body  of  the  churches  respect- 
ing its  author,  were  probably  the  reasons  why-  it  was 
slow  in  coming  into  universal  use  ;  though  it  was  very 

*  About  1500  dollars. 


420  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

generally  acknowledged  at  quite  an  early  period,  us 
will  be  seen  in  the  testimonies.  The  author,  in  9, 
14,  15,  refers  to  matters  not  on  record  in  any  of  the 
canonical  books  of  Scrij^ture,  and  which,  probably, 
like  the  names  of  Jannes  and  Jambres  (2  Tim.  iii  3), 
had  been  preserved  till  that  time  by  tradition.  It  is 
true  that  the  passage  in  14,  15,  is  found  in  our 
present  book  of  Enoch ;  but  as  this  book  was  not  com 
pleted  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it  till  aftet 
this  epistle  was  written,  it  is  probable  that  Enoch  quotes 
from  Jude  rather  than  Jude  from  Enoch. 

After  a  brief  introduction  (1-3)  the  author  proceeds 
to  expose  the  corrupt,  blasphemous  and  wicked  men, 
teachers  of  error  and  panderers  to  vice,  who  had  crept 
into  the  churches  (3-19),  and  concludes  with  the  ex- 
hortation and  the  expression  of  the  hope  that  his  read- 
ers would  persevere  in  the  right  way,  and  be  finally 
received  to  the  joys  of  the  upper  world  (20-25). 

TESTIMONIES  TO  THE  EPISTLE  OF  JUDE. 

Clement  of  Alexandria^  Paed.  ii.  "  Says  Jude,  For 
I  wish  you  to  know  how  that  the  Lord,  having  saved 
the  people  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  afterward  de- 
stroyed them  that  believed  not.  And  the  angels  which 
kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitata- 
tion,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under 
darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  And 
again,  ....  Woe  unto  them !  for  they  have  gone  in 
tlie  way  of  Cain,  and  run  greedily  after  the  error  of 
Balaam  for  reward,  and  perished  in  the  gainsaying  of 
Core.     These  are  spots  in  your  feasts." 

Strom,  iii.      "  Concerning  these  and  similar  heresies 


THE    SEVEN    CATHOLIC    EPISTLES.  421 

I  think  Jude  spake  prophetically  in  his  epistle.  Like- 
wise also  these  filthy  dreamers and  so  on  to  this. 

And  their  mouth  speaketh  proud  things."  Jude  16. 

Adumb.  in  Ep.  Jud.  "Jude  who  wrote  the  Catholic 
epistle,  a  brother  of  the  sons  of  Joseph,  being  very 
religious,  when  he  knew  his  relationship  to  the  Lord, 
nevertheless  he  did  not  say  that  he  was  his  brother, 
but  what  said  he  ?  Jude,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 
as  of  the  Lord,  but  a  brother  of  James." 

TertulUan.  De  Cult.  Tem.  i.  3.  "Enoch  has  testi- 
mony in  the  apostle  Jude." 

Origen.  Comment,  in  Matth.  i.  "Jude  wrote  an 
epistle  indeed  of  few  verses,  but  filled  with  efficacious 
words  of  heavenly  grace,  and  says  in  the  beginning, 
Jude  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  the  brother  of 
James." 

XV.  "And  indeed  many  of  the  first  heavenly  beings 
became  last,  being  kept  in  eternal  chains  under  dark- 
ness for  the  judgment  of  the   great  day."     Jude  6. 

xiii.  "And  in  the  epistle  of  Jude,  to  those  who  are 
beloved  in  God  the  Father,  and  preserved  and  called 
in  Jesus  Christ."  Jude  1. 

Comment,  in  Rom.  iii.  "And  unless  they  had  been 
held  by  this  law,  the  divine  Scripture  would  never 
have  said  concerning  them.  The  angels  also,  who  kept 
not  their  principality,  but  left  their  own  habitation, 
hath  God  reserved,  under  darkness  bound  in  Tartarus 
with  eternal  chains,  for  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day."  vi.  v.  "In  what  manner  then  can  we  explain 
what  the  apostle  Jude  says  in  his  Catholic  epistle  ? 
For  thus  he  speaks.  The  angels  also,  who  kept  not 
their  principality,"  etc. 


422  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

De  Princip.  iii.  2.  "The  apostle  Jude  in  his  epistle 
says,  Michael  the  archangel  disputing  with  Satan  con- 
cerning the  body  of  Moses."  Jude  9. 

Jerome.  Catal.  Script.  Eccl.  c.  4.  "Jude  the  broth- 
er of  James,  left  a-  short  epistle,  which  is  of  the  seven 
Catholic  epistles." 

Epiplianius.  xxvi.  "As  also  I  judge  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  moved  in  regard  to  these  things  in  the  apostle 
Jude,  in  the  Catholic  epistle,  I  say,  which  was  written 
by  him.  But  this  Jude  is  called  the  brother  of  James 
and  of  the  Lord." 

THE   APOCRYPHAL   EPISTLES. 

What  are  called  the  Apocryphal  Epistles  are  for  the 
most  part  very  different  compositions  from  the  Apoc- 
ryphal Gospels  and  Acts,  which  have  already  been  re- 
viewed. Those  are  generally  either  spurious  or  anon- 
ymous fictions  and  worthless,  except  as  they  occa- 
sionally embody  some  early  Christian  traditions  not 
elsewhere  to  be  found.  But  these  epistles  are,  as  a 
whole,  the  writings  of  the  men  whose  names  they 
bear,  good  and  useful  men  and  honored  teachers  in 
the  church,  the  public  companions  of  the  apostles 
themselves.  Hence  the  more  common  and  appropri- 
ate designation  of  these  books  is,  the  writings  of  the 
Apostolic  Fathers.  They  bear  somewhat  the  same 
relation  to  the  New  Testament  that  such  Apocryphal 
books  a  1  Maccabees,  Jesus  Sirach  and  Wisdom  of 
Solomon  do  to  the  Old.  Though  genuine  they  are 
somewhat  interpolated  and  corrupted,  and  the  falling 
off  in  tone  and  sentiment  from  the  inspired  to  the  un- 
inspired must  be  obvious  to  the  dullest  reader.     Com- 


THE   APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  423 

pare  Barnabas  for  example,  the  fellow-missionary  of 
Paul,  or  Hermas  his  personal  friend,  (Rom.  xvi.  14), 
with  the  apostle  himself;  and  it  is  seen  at  once  how 
wide  the  difference  is  between  an  inspired  writer  and 
an  uninspired  writer,  even  of  the  same  age  and  class. 
"We  admit  that  the  epistle  of  Barnabas  is  strongly  in- 
terpolated, and  that  the  author  of  the  Shepherd  may 
be  a  Hermas  who  lived  at  Rome  three-quarters  of  a 
century  after  Paul ;  but  even  with  this  admission,  the  con- 
trast between  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth 
and  the  words  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth  is  suffi- 
ciently marked  and  strong.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how  Irenaeus,  a  cotemporary  of  the  second  Hermas, 
should  ascribe  this  work  to  the  first  Hermas  and  speak 
so  very  highly  of  it,  if  it  had  been  a  product  of  his 
own  day. 

The  writings  referred  to  include  the  First  Epistle  of 
Clement  of  Rome  (Phil.  iv.  3)  to  the  Corinthians,  the 
Epistle  of  Barnabas,  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius,  the  Epis- 
tle of  Polycarp,  and  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas.  These 
persons  and  their  works  are  all  briefly  described  in  the 
Fourth  Chapter  of  this  Volume,  to  which  the  reader  is 
here  referred.  To  these  may  be  added  the  Epistles  of 
the  Churches  of  Yienne  and  Lyons,  and  the  epistle  to 
Diognetus. 

I  select  for  the  purposes  of  comparison  with  the 
New  Testament  Epistles,  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius  lo  the 
Ephesians,  the  Epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians, 
and  the  first  Vision  of  Hermas.  I  take  the  shortest 
recension  of  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius,  which  beyond  rea- 
sonable doubt  comes  to  us  as  Ignatius  wrote  it.     Let 


424  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

the  reader  now,  before  proceeding  further,  turn  to  the 
iv  chapter  and  examine  the  paragraphs  on  Hermas, 
Ignatius,  and  Poljcarp. 

Hermas  perhaps  belongs  more  properly  to  the  apoc- 
alyptic than  to  the  epistolary  Apocrypha ;  but  I  place 
him  here  with  Ignatius  and  Poly  carp,  and  after  James 
and  Peter,  John  and  Jude,  that  the  striking  contrast 
between  the  inspired  and  the  uninspired,  at  the  very 
earliest  period  of  the  church,  may  be  the  more  clearly 
seen. 

THE    EPISTLE    OF    IGNATIUS    TO    THE    EPHESIANS. 

Ignatius,  who  is  also  called  Theophorus,  to  the 
'  church  which  is  at  Ephesus  in  Asia ;  most  deservedly 
happy ;  being  blessed  through  the  greatness  and  ful- 
ness of  God  the  Father,  and  predestinated  before  the 
world  began,  that  it  should  be  always  unto  an  enduring 
and  unchangeable  glory  ;  being  united  and  chosen 
through  his  true  passion,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
Father,  and  Jesus  Christ  our  God;  all  happiness,  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  his  undefiled  grace.  I  have  heard  of 
your  name,  much  beloved  in  God ;  which  ye  have  very 
justly  attained  by  a  habit  of  righteousness,  according 
to  the  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Sa- 
viour. How  that  being  followers  of  God,  and  stirring 
up  yourselves  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  ye  have  perfect- 
ly accomplished  the  work  that  was  connatural  unto 
you.  For  hearing  that  I  came  bound  from  Syria,  for 
the  common  name  and  hope,  trusting  through  your 
prayers  to  fight  with  beasts  at  Rome ;  that  so  by  suf- 
fering I  may  become  indeed  the  disciple  of  him  who 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  425 

gave  himself  to  God,  an  offering  and  sacrifice  for  us 
(ye  hastened  to  see  me).  I  received,  therefore,  in  the 
name  of  God,  your  whole  multitude  iii  Onesimus.  Who 
by  inexpressible  love  is  ours,  but  according  to  the  flesh 
is  your  bishop  :  whom  I  beseech  you,  by  Jesus  Christ, 
to  love ;  and  that  you  would  all  strive  to  be  like  unto 
him.  And  blessed  be  God,  who  has  granted  unto  you, 
who  are  so  worthy  of  him,  to  enjoy  such  an  excellent 
bishop.  For  what  concerns  my  fellow-servant  Burrhus, 
and  your  most  blessed  deacon  in  things  pertaining  to 
God ;  I  entreat  you  that  he  may  tarry  longer,  both  for 
yours  and  your  bishop's  honor.  And  Crocus,  also, 
worthy  both  of  our  God  and  you,  whom  I  have  received 
as  the  pattern  of  your  love,  has  in  all  things  refreshed 
me,  as  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  also 
refresh  him,  together  with  Onesimus,  and  Burrhus,  and 
Euplus,  and  Fonto,  in  whom  I  have,  as  to  your  charity, 
seen  all  of  you.  And  may  I  always  have  joy  of  you, 
if  I  shall  be  worthy  of  it.  It  is  therefore  fitting  that 
you  should  by  all  means  •  glorify  Jesus  Christ  who  hath 
glorified  you ;  that  by  a  uniform  obedience  ye  may  be 
perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind,  and  in  the 
same  judgment ;  and  may  all  speak  the  same  things 
concerning  every  thing  :  And  that  being  subject  to 
your  bishop,  and  the  presbytery,  ye  may  be  wholly 
and  thoroughly  sanctified.  These  things  I  prescribe 
to  you,  not  as  if  I  were  somebody  extraordinary :  for 
though  I  am  bound  for  his  name,  I  am  not  yet  perfect 
in  Christ  Jesus.  But  now  I  begin  to  learn,  and  I 
speak  to  you  as  fellow-disciples  together  with  me.  For 
I  ought  to  have  been  stirred  up  by  you,  in  faith,  in 
admonition,  in  patience,  in  long  suffering :  but  for  as 


426  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

much  as  charity  suffers  me  not  to  be  silent  towards 
you,  I  have  first  taken  upon  me  to  exhort  you,  that  ye 
would  all  run  together  according  to  the  will  of  God. 
For  even  Jesus  Christ,  our  inseparable  life,  is  sent  by 
the  will  of  the  Father ;  as  the  bishops,  appointed  unto 
the  utmost  bounds  of  the  earth,  are  by  the  will  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Wherefore  it  will  become  you  to  run 
together  according  to  the  will  of  your  bishop,  as  also 
ye  do.  For  your  famous  presbytery,  worthy  of  God, 
is  fitted  as  exactly  to  the  bishop,  as  the  strings  are  to 
the  harp.  Therefore  in  your  concord,  and  agreeing 
charity,  Jesus  Christ  is  sung ;  and  every  single  person 
among  you  makes  up  the  chorus :  That  so  being  all 
consonant  in  love,  and  taking  up  the  song  of  God,  ye 
may  in  perfect  unity,  with  one  voice,  sing  to  the 
Father  by  Jesus  Christ ;  to  the  end  that  he  may  both 
hear  you,  and  perceive  by  your  works,  that  ye  are  in- 
deed the  members  of  his  Son.  Wherefore  it  is  profit- 
able for  you  to  live  in  an  unblamable  unity,  that  so  ye 
may  always  have  a  fellowship  with  God. 

For  if  I  in  this  little  time  have  had  such  a  familiarity 
with  your  bishop,  I  mean  not  a  carnal,  but  spiritual 
acquaintance  with  him,  how  much  more  must  1  think 
you  happy  who  are  so  joined  to  him,  as  the  church  is 
to  Jesus  Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Father ;  that  so 
all  things  may  agree  in  the  same  unity  ?  Let  no  man 
deceive  himself;  if  a  man  be  not  within  the  altar,  he 
is  deprived  of  the  bread  of  God.  For  if  the  jn-ayer 
of  one  or  two  be  of  such  force,  as  we  are  told,  how 
much  more  powerful  shall  that  of  the  bishop  and  the 
whole  church  be  ?  He  therefore  that  does  not  come 
together  into  llie  same  place  witli  it,  is  proud,  and  has 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   EPISTLES.  427 

alrecady  condemned  himself.  For  it  is  written.,  God 
resisteth  the  proud.  Let  us  take  heed  therefore,  that 
we  do  not  set  ourselves  against  the  bishop,  that  we 
may  be  subject  to  God.  The  more  any  one  sees  his 
bishop  silent,  the  more  let  him  revere  him.  For  whom- 
soever the  master  of  the  house  sends  to  be  over  his 
own  household,  we  ought  in  like  manner  to  receive 
him,  as  we  would  do  him  that  sent  him.  It  is  there- 
fore evident  that  we  ought  to  look  upon  the  bishop 
even  as  we  would  do  upon  the  Lord  himself  And  in- 
deed Onesimus  himself  does  greatly  commend  your 
good  order  in  God :  that  you  all  live  according  to  the 
truth,  and  that  no  heresy  dwells  among  you.  For 
neither  do  ye  hearken  to  any  one  more  than  to  Jesus 
Christ  speaking  to  you  in  truth.  For  some  there  are 
who  carry  about  the  name  of  Christ  in  deceitfulness, 
but  do  things  unworthy  of  God ;  whom  ye  must  flee, 
as  ye  would  so  many  wild  beasts.  For  they  are 
ravening  dogs,  who  bite  secretly  :  against  whom  ye 
must  guard  yourselves,  as  men  hardly  to  be  cured. 
There  is  one  physician,  both  fleshly  and  spiritual ;  made 
and  not  made  ;  God  incarnate  ;  true  life  in  death  ;  both 
of  Mary  and  of  God  ;  first  passible  ;  then  impassible ; 
even  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Wherefore,  let  no  man 
deceive  you ,  as  indeed  neither  are  ye  deceived,  being 
wholly  the  servants  of  God.  For  inasmuch  as  there 
is  no  contention,  nor  strife  among  you,  to  trouble  you, 
ye  must  needs  live  according  to  God's  will.  My  soul 
be  for  yours ;  and  I  myself  the  expiatory  offering  for 
your  church  of  Ephesus,  so  famous  throughout  the 
world.  They  that  are  of  the  flesh  cannot  do  the  works 
of  the   spirit ;  neither  they  that  are  of  the  spirit  the 


428  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

works  of  the  flesli.  As  he  that  has  faith  cannot  be  an 
infidel ;  nor  he  that  is  an  infidel  have  faith.  But  even 
those  things  which  ye  do  according  to  the  flesh  are 
spiritual;  forasmuch  as  ye  do  all  things  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Nevertheless  I  have  heard  of  some  who  have 
passed  by  you,  having  perverse  doctrine ;  whom  ye 
did  not  suffer  to  sow  among  you ;  but  stopped  your 
ears,  that  ye  might  not  receive  those  things  that  were 
sown  by  them ;  as  being  the  stones  of  the  temple  of 
the  Father,  prepared  for  his  building ;  and  drawn  up 
on  high  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  as  by  an  engine.  Using 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  rope ;  your  faith  being  your 
support ;  and  your  charity  the  way  that  leads  unto 
God.  Ye  are,  therefore,  with  all  your  companions  in 
the  same  journey,  full  of  God ;  his  spiritual  temples, 
full  of  Christ,  full  of  holiness ;  adorned  in  all  things 
with  the  commands  of  Christ.  In  whom  also  I  rejoice 
that  I  have  been  thought  worthy  by  this  present  epistle 
to  converse,  and  joy  together  with  you  ;  that  with  re- 
spect to  the  other  life,  ye  love  nothing  but  God  only. 
Pray  also  without  ceasing  for  other  men ;  for  there 
is  hope  of  repentance  in  them,  that  they  may  attain 
unto  God ;  let  them  therefore  at  least  be  instructed  by 
your  works,  if  they  will  be  no  other  way.  Be  ye  mild 
at  their  anger ;  humble  at  their  boasting  :  to  their 
blasphemies,  return  your  prayers :  to  their  error,  your 
firmness  in  the  faith :  when  they  are  cruel,  be  ye  gen- 
tle ;  not  endeavoring  to  imitate  their  ways.  Let  us 
be  their  brethren  in  all  kindness  and  moderation,  but 
let  us  be  followers  of  the  Lord :  for  who  was  ever 
more  unjustly  used  ?  more  destitute  ?  more  despised  ? 
That  so  no  herb  of  the  Devil  may  be  found  in  you ; 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  429 

but  ye  may  remain  in  all  holiness  and  sobriety,  both 
of  body  and  spirit,  in  Christ  Jesus.     The  last  times  are 
come  upon  us :  let  us  therefore  be  very  reverent,  and 
fear  the  long-suffering  of  God,  that  it  be  not  to  us 
unto  condemnation.     For  let  us  either  fear  the  Avrath 
that  is  to  come,  or  let  us  love  the  grace  that  we  at 
present   enjoy ;  that  by  the  one,   or   other,  of  these 
we  may  be  found  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  true  life.     Be- 
sides him,  let  nothing  be  worthy  of  you ;  for  whom 
also  I  bear  about  these  bonds,  those  spiritual  jewels, 
in  which  I  would  to  God  that  I  might  arise   through 
your  prayers.     Of  which  I  entreat  you  to  make  me 
always  partaker,  that  I  may  be  found  in  the  lot  of  the 
Christians  of  Ephesus,  who  have   always  agreed  with 
the  apostles,  through  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ.     I 
know  both  who  I  am,  and  to  whom  I  write  :   I,  a  per- 
son condemned ;  ye,  such  as  have  obtained  mercy ;  I, 
exposed  to  danger ;  ye,  confirmed  against  danger.     Ye 
are  the  passage  of  those  that  are  killed  for  God ;  the 
companions  of  Paul  in   the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel; 
the  holy,  the  martyr,  the  deservedly  most  happy  Paul ; 
at  whose  feet  may  I  be  found,  when  I  shall  have  at- 
tained unto  God ;  who  throughout  all  his  epistles  makes 
mention  of  you  in  Christ  Jesus.     Let  it  be  your  care, 
therefore,  to  come  more  fully  together,  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  God.     For  when  ye  meet  fully  together 
in  the   same  place,  the  powers  of  the   devil  are   de- 
stroyed, and  his  mischief  is  dissolved  by  the  unity  of 
your  faith.     And  indeed,  nothing  is  better  than  peace, 
by  which  all  war,  both  spiritual  and  earthly,  are  abol- 
ished.    Of  all  which  nothing  is  hid  from  you,  if  ye 
have  perfect  faith  and  charity  in  Christ  Jesus,  which 


430  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

are  the  beginning  and  end  of  life.  For  the  beginning 
is  faith ;  the  end  charity.  And  these  two,  joined  to- 
gether, are  of  God :  but  all  other  things  which  con- 
cern a  holy  life,  are  the  consequences  of  these.  No 
man  professing  a  true  faith,  sinneth  ;  neither  does  he 
who  has  charity,  hate  any.  The  tree  is  made  manifest 
by  its  fruit ;  so  they  who  profess  themselves  to  be 
Christians  are  known  by  what  they  do.  For  Christian- 
ity is  not  the  work  of  an  outward  profession;  but 
shows  itself  in  the  power  of  faith,  if  a  man  be  found 
faithful  unto  the  end.  It  is  better  for  a  man  to  hold 
his  peace,  and  be,  than  to  say,  he  is  a  Christian,  and 
not  to  be.  It  is  good  to  teach,  if  what  he  says,  he 
does  likewise.  There  is  therefore  one  Master  who 
spake,  and  it  was  done  ;  and  even  those  things  which 
he  did  without  speaking,  are  worthy  of  the  Father. 
He  that  possesses  the  word  of  Jesus,  is  truly  able  to 
hear  his  very  silence,  that  he  may  be  perfect;  and 
both  do  according  to  what  he  speaks,  and  be  known 
of  those  things  of  which  he  is  silent.  There  is  nothing 
hid  from  God,  but  even  our  secrets  are  nigh  unto  him. 
Let  us  therefore  do  all  things,  as  becomes  those  who 
have  God  dwelling  in  them ;  that  we  may  be  his  tem- 
ples, and  he  may  be  our  God ;  as  also  he  is,  and  will 
manifest  himself  before  our  faces,  by  those  things  for 
which  we  justly  love  him. 

Be  not  deceived,  my  brethren :  those  that  corrupt 
families  by  adultery,  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God.  If  therefore  they  who  do  this  according  to  the 
flesh,  have  sufiered  death,  how  much  more  shall  he 
die,  who  by  his  wicked  doctrine  corrupts  the  faith  of 
God,  for  which  Christ  was  crucified  ?     He  that  is  thus 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  431 

defiled,  shall  depart  into  unquenchable  fire,  and  so 
also  shall  he  that  hearkens  to  him.  For  this  cause  did 
the  Lord  suifer  the  ointment  to  be  poured  on  his  head ; 
that  he  might  breathe  the  breath  of  immortality  into 
his  church.  Be  not  ye  therefore  anointed  with  the 
evil  savor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  prince  of  this  world : 
let  him  not  take  you  captive  from  the  life  that  is  set 
before  you.  And  why  are  we  not  all  wise ;  seeing  we 
have  received  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Why  do  we  suffer  ourselves  foolishly  to  per- 
ish ;  not  considering  the  gift  which  the  Lord  has  truly 
sent  to  us  ?  Let  my  life  be  sacrificed  for  the  doctrine 
of  the  cross ;  which  is  indeed  a  scandal  to  the  unbe- 
lievers, but  to  us  is  salvation  and  life  eternal.  Where 
is  the  wise  man  ?  Where  is  the  disputer  ?  Where  is 
the  boasting  of  those  who  are  called  wise  ?  For  our 
God,  Jesus  Christ,  was  according  to  the  dispensation  of 
God,  conceived  in  the  womb  of  Mary,  of  the  seed  of 
David,  by  the  Holy  Ghost :  he  was  born,  and  baptized, 
that  through  his  passion  he  might  purify  water,  to  the 
washing  away  of  sin.  Now  the  virginity  of  Mary,  and 
he  who  was  born  of  her,  was  kept  secret  from  the 
prince  of  this  world;  as  was  also  the  death  of  our 
Lord ;  three  of  the  mysteries  the  most  spoken  of 
throughout  the  world,  yet  done  in  secret  by  God. 
How  then  was  our  Saviour  manifested  to  the  world  ? 
A  star  shone  in  heaven  beyond  all  the  other  stars,  and 
its  light  was  inexpressible,  and  its  novelty  struck  ter- 
ror into  men's  minds.  All  the  rest  of  the  stars,  to- 
gether with  the  sun  and  moon,  were  the  chorus  to  this 
star;  but  that  sent  out  its  light  exceedingly  above 
them  all.     And  men  began  to  be  trouliled  to  think 


432  THE     BOOKS     or     THE     BIBLE 

whence  this  new  star  came,  so  unlike  to  all  the  others. 
Hence  all  the  power  of  magic  became  dissolved ;  and 
every  bond  of  wickedness  was  destroyed ;  men's  igno- 
rance was  taken  away ;  and  the  old  kingdom  abolish- 
ed ;  God  himself  appearing  in  the  form  of  a  man,  for 
the  renewal  of  eternal  life.  From  thence  began  what 
God  had  prepared  :  from  thenceforth  things  were  dis- 
turbed ;  forasmuch  as  he  designed  to  abolish  death. 
But  if  Jesus  Christ  shall  give  me  grace  through  your 
prayers,  and  it  be  his  will,  I  purpose  in  a  second  epis- 
tle, which  I  will  suddenly  write  unto  you,  to  manifest 
to  you  more  fully  the  dispensation  of  which  I  have 
now  begun  to  speak,  unto  the  new  man,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ ;  both  in  his  faith,  and  charity ;  in  his  suffering 
and  in  his  resurrection.  Especially  if  the  Lord  shall 
make  known  unto  me,  that  ye  all  by  name  come  to- 
gether in  common  in  one  faith,  and  in  one  Jesus  Christ ; 
who  was  of  the  race  of  David,  according  to  the  flesh ; 
the  Son  of  man  and  Son  of  God  ;  obeying  your  bishop 
and  the  presbytery  with  an  entire  affection ;  breaking 
one  and  the  same  bread,  which  is  the  medicine  of  im- 
mortality ;  our  antidote  that  we  should  not  die,  but 
live  forever  in  Christ  Jesus.  My  soul  be  for  yours, 
and  theirs  whom  ye  have  sent,  to  the  glory  of  God ; 
even  unto  Smyrna,  from  whence  also  I  write  to 
you ;  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  loving  Polycarp 
even  as  I  do  you.  Remember  me,  as  Jesus  Christ  does 
remember  you.  Pray  for  the  church  which  is  in  Syria, 
from  whence  I  am  carried  bound  to  Ptome  ;  being  the 
least  of  all  the  faithful  which  are  there,  as  I  have  been 
thought  worthy  to  be  found  to  the  glory  of  God. 
Fare  ye  well  in  God  the  Father,  and  in  Jesus  Christ, 
our  common  hope.     Amen. 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  433 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  POLYCARP  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

Polycarp,  and  the  presbyters  that  are  with  him,  to 
the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Philippi ;  mercy  unto 
you,  and  peace,  from  God  Ahnighty,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour,  be  multiplied.  I  rejoiced 
greatly  with  you  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  re- 
ceived the  images  of  a  true  love,  and  accompanied  as 
it  behoves  you,  those  who  were  in  bonds  becoming 
saints ;  which  are  the  crowns  of  such  as  are  truly 
chosen  by  God  and  our  Lord :  as  also  that  the  root  of 
the  faith  which  was  preached  from  ancient  times,  re- 
mains firm  in  you  to  this  day ;  and  brings  forth  fruit 
to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  suffered  himself  to  be 
brought  even  to  the  death  for  our  sins.  Whom  God 
hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death. 
Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love ;  in  whom,  though 
now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  Into  which  many  de- 
sire to  enter ;  knowing  that  by  grace  ye  are  saved ; 
not  by  works,  but  by  the  will  of  God  through  Jesus 
Christ.  Wherefore,  girding  up  the  loins  of  your  minds ; 
serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  in  truth  laying  aside  all 
empty  and  vain  speech,  and  the  error  of  many ;  be- 
lieving in  him  that  raised  up  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead,  and  hath  given  him  glory,  and  a  throne 
at  his  right  hand.  To  whom  all  things  are  made  sub- 
ject, both  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth ; 
whom  every  living  creature  shall  worship ;  who  shall 
come  to  be  the  judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead ; 
whose  blood  God  shall  require  of  them  that  believe 
not  in  him.  But  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the 
28 


434  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

dead,  shall  also  raise  up  us  in  like  manner,  if  we  do 
his  will,  and  walk  according  to  his  commandments; 
and  love  those  things  which  he  loved :  abstaining  fi'om 
all  unrighteousness ;  inordinate  affection,  and  love,  of 
money;  from  evil  speaking;  false  witness;  not  ren- 
dering evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing,  or  striking 
for  striking,  or  cursing  for  cursing.  But  remem])er 
what  the  Lord  has  taught  us,  saying.  Judge  not,  that 
ye  shall  not  be  judged ;  forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  for- 
given ;  be  ye  merciful,  and  ye  shall  obtain  mercy ;  for 
with  the  same  measure  that  ye  mete  withal,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again.  And  again,  that  blessed  are  the 
poor,  and  they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteousness' 
sake  ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  God. 

These  things,  my  brethren,  I  took  not  the  liberty  of 
myself  to  write  unto  you  concerning  righteousness, 
but  you  yourselves  before  encouraged  me  to  do  it. 
For  neither  can  I,  nor  any  other  such  as  I  am,  come 
up  to  the  wisdom  of  the  blessed  and  renowned  Paul ; 
who,  being  himself  in  person  with  those  who  then 
lived,  did  with  all  exactness  and  soundness  teach  the 
word  of  truth ;  and  being  gone  from  you,  wrote  an 
epistle  to  you.  Into  which  if  you  look,  you  will  be 
able  to  edify  yourselves  in  the  ftiith  that  has  been  de- 
livered unto  you  ;  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all ;  being 
followed  with  hope,  and  led  on  by  a  general  love,  both 
towards  God  and  towards  Christ,  and  towards  our 
neighbour.  For  if  any  man  has  these  things,  he 
has  fulfilled  the  law  of  righteousness  :  for  he  that  has 
charity  is  far  from  all  sin.  But  the  love  of  money  is 
the  root  of  all  evil.  Knowing  therefore  that  as  we 
brought  nothing  into  this  world,  so  neither  may  we 


TEE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  435 

carry  anything  ont;  let  us  arm  ourselves  with  the 
armor  of  righteousness.  And  teach  ourselves  first  to 
walk  according  to  the  commandments  of  the  Lord ; 
and  then  our  wives  to  walk  likewise  according  to  the 
faith  that  is  given  to  them ;  in  charity,  and  in  purity  ; 
loving  their  own  husbands  with  all  sincerity,  and  all 
others  alike  with  all  temperance  ;  and  to  bring  up  their 
children  in  the  instruction  and  fear  of  the  Lord.  The 
widows  likewise  teach  that  they  be  sober  as  to  what 
concerns  the  faith  of  the  Lord ;  praying  always  for  all 
men ;  being  far  from  all  detraction,  evil  speaking,  false 
witness  ;  from  covetousness,  and  from  all  evil.  Know- 
ing that  they  are  the  altars  of  God,  who  sees  all  blem- 
ishes, and  from  whom  nothing  is  hid ;  who  searches 
out  the  very  reasonings,  and  thoughts,  and  secrets  of 
our  hearts.  Knowing,  therefore,  that  God  is  not 
mocked,  we  ought  to  walk  worthy  both  of  his  com- 
mand and  of  his  glory.  Also  the  deacons  must  be 
blameless  before  him,  as  the  ministers  of  God  in  Christ, 
and  not  of  men.  Not  false  accusers;  not  double- 
tongued  ;  not  lovers  of  money ;  but  moderate  in  all 
things ;  compassionate,  careful ;  walking  according  to 
the  truth  of  the  Lord,  who  was  the  servant  of  all. 
Whom  if  we  please  in  this  present  world,  we  shall  also 
be  made  partakers  of  that  which  is  to  come,  according 
as  he  hath  promised  us,  that  he  will  raise  us  up  from 
the  dead ;  and  that  if  we  shall  walk  worthy  of  him, 
we  shall  also  reign  together  with  him,  if  we  believe. 
In  like  manner  the  younger  men  must  be  unblamable 
in  all  things ;  above  all,  taking  care  of  their  purity, 
and  to  restrain  themselves  from  all  evil.  For  it  is  good 
to  be  cut  off  from  the  lusts  that  are  in  the  world ;  be- 


436  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

cause  every  such  lust  warreth  against  tlie  spirit :  and 
neither  fornicators,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers  of  them- 
selves with  mankind,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
nor  they  who  do  such  things  as  are  foolish  and  unrea- 
sonable. Wherefore  ye  must  needs  abstain  from  all 
these  things ;  being  subject  to  the  priests  and  deacons, 
as  unto  God  and  Christ.  The  virgins  admonish  to 
walk  in  a  spotless  and  pure  conscience.  And  let  the 
elders  be  compassionate  and  merciful  towards  all,  turn- 
ing them  from  their  errors ;  seeking  out  those  that  are 
weak ;  not  forgetting  the  widows,  the  fatherless,  and 
the  poor ;  but  always  providing  what  is  good  both  in, 
the  sight  of  God  and  man.  Abstaining  from  all  wrath, 
respect  of  persons,  and  unrighteous  judgment ;  and 
especially  being  free  from  all  covetousness.  Not  easy 
to  believe  anything  against  any ;  not  severe  in  judg- 
ment; knowing  that  we  are  all  debtors  in  point 
of  sin.  If  therefore  ^  we  pray  to  the  Lord  that  he 
would  forgive  us,  we  ought  also  to  forgive  others ,  for 
we  are  all  in  the  sight  of  our  Lord  and  God ;  and  must 
all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ;  and 
shall  every  one  give  an  account  of  himself  Let  us 
therefore  serve  him  in  fear,  and  with  all  reverence  as 
both  himself  hath  commanded,  and  as  the  apostles 
who  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  us,  and  the  proph- 
ets who  have  foretold  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  have 
taught  us  :  being  zealous  of  what  is  good ;  abstaining 
from  all  offence,  and  from  false  brethren ;  and  from 
those  who  bear  the  name  of  Christ  in  hypocrisy ;  who 
deceive  vain  men. 

For  whosoever  does  not  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
eome  in  the  flesh,  he  is  Antichrist :  and  whoever  does 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  437 

not  confess  liis  suffering  upon  the  cross,  is  from  the 
Devil.  And  whosoever  perverts  the  oracles  of  the 
Lord  to  his  own  lusts  ;  and  says  that  there  shall  nei- 
ther be  any  resurrection,  nor  judgment,  he  is  the  first- 
born of  Satan.  Wherefore,  leaving  the  vanity  of 
many,  and  their  false  doctrines ;  let  us  return  to  the 
word  that  was  delivered  to  us  from  the  beginning ; 
Watching  unto  prayer ;  and  persevering  in  fasting : 
With  supplication  beseeching  the  all-seeing  God  not 
to  lead  us  into  temptation ;  as  the  Lord  hath  said ; 
The  spirit  truly  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak.  Let 
us  therefore,  without  ceasing,  hold  steadfastly  to  him 
who  is  our  hope,  and  the  earnest  of  our  righteousness, 
even  Jesus  iChrist ;  Who  his  own  self  bear  our  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree ;  who  did  not  sin,  neither 
was  guile  found  in  his  mouth.  But  suffered  all  for  us 
that  we  might  live  through  him.  Let  us  therefore  im- 
itate his  patience ;  and  if  we  suffer  for  his  name,  let  us 
glorify  him ;  for  this  example  he  has  given  us  by  him- 
self, and  so  have  we  believed.  Wherefore  I  exhort 
all  of  you  that  ye  obey  the  word  of  righteousness,  and 
exercise  all  patience  ;  which  ye  have  seen  set  forth  be- 
fore your  eyes,  not  only  in  the  blessed  Ignatius,  and 
Zozimus,  and  Rufus ;  but  in  others  among  yourselves ; 
and  in  Paul  himself,  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  :  Be- 
ing confident  of  this,  that  all  these  have  not  run  in 
vain ;  but  in  faith  and  righteousness,  and  are  gone  to 
the  place  that  was  due  to  them  from  the  Lord ;  with 
whom  also  they  suffered.  For  they  loved  not  this 
present  world ;  but  him  who  died,  and  was  raised 
again  by  God  for  us.  Stand  therefore  in  these  things 
and  follow  the  example  of  the  Lord ;  being  firm  and 


438  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

immutable  in  the  faith,  lovers  of  the  brotherhood,  lovers 
of  one  another ;  companions  together  in  the  truth,  be- 
ing kind  and  gentle  toward  each  other,  despising  none. 
When  it  is  in  your  power  to  do  good,  defer  it  not ;  for 
charity  delivereth  from  death.  Be  all  of  you  subject 
one  to  another;  having  your  conversation  honest 
among  the  Gentiles ;  that  by  your  good  works,  both 
ye  yourselves  may  receive  praise,  and  the  Lord  may 
not  be  blasphemed  through  you.  But  wo  be  to  him 
by  whom  the  name  of  the  Lord  is  blasphemed.  There- 
fore teach  all  men  sobriety ;  in  which  do  ye  also  ex- 
ercise yourselves. 

I  am  greatly  afflicted  for  Valens,  who  was  once  a 
presbyter  among  you  ;  that  he  should  so  little  under- 
stand the  place  that  was  given  to  him  in  the  church. 
Wherefore  I  admonish  you  that  ye  abstain  from  cove- 
tousness ;  and  that  ye  be  chaste,  and  true  of  speech. 
Keep  yourselves  from  all  evil.  For  he  that  in  these 
things  cannot  govern  himself,  how  shall  he  be  able  to 
prescribe  them  to  another  ?  If  a  man  does  not  keep 
himself  from  covetousness,  he  shall  be  polluted  with 
idolatry,  and  be  judged  as  if  he  were  a  Gentile.  But 
who  of  you  are  ignorant  of  the  judgment  of  God  ? 
Do  we  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world, 
as  Paul  teaches  ?  But  I  have  neither  perceived  nor 
heard  any  thing  of  this  kind  in  you,  among  whom  the 
blessed  Paul  laboured  ;  and  who  are  named  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  Papistic.  For  he  glories  of  you  in  all 
the  churches  who  then  only  knew  God ;  for  we  did 
not  then  know  him.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  I  am 
exceedingly  sorry  both  for  him,  and  for  his  wife ;  to 
whom  God  grant  a  true  repentance.     And  be  ye  also 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  439 

moderate  upon  this  occasion  ;  and  look  not  upon  such 
as  enemies,  but  call  them  back  as  suffering  and  erring 
members,  that  ye  may  save  your  whole  body :  for  by 
so  doing,  ye  shall  edify  your  own  selves.  For  I  trust 
that  ye  are  well  exercised  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
that  nothing  is  hid  from  you  :  but  at  present  it  is  not 
granted  unto  me  to  practise  that  which  is  written,  Be 
angry  and  sin  not ;  and  again.  Let  not  the  sun  go 
down  upon  your  wrath.  Blessed  is  he  that  believeth 
and  remembereth  these  things ;  which  also  I  trust  you 
do.  Now  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  he  himself  who  is  our  everlasting  high- 
priest,  the  Son  of  God,  even  Jesus  Christ,  build  you 
up  in  faith  and  in  truth,  and  in  all  meekness  and  leni- 
ty ;  in  patience  and  long-suffering,  in  forbearance  and 
chastity  ;  and  grant  unto  you  a  lot  and  portion  among 
his  saints  ;  and  us  with  you,  and  to  all  that  are  under 
the  heavens,  who  shall  believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  in  his  Father  who  raised  him  from  the  dead.  Pray 
for  all  the  saints :  pray  also  for  kings,  and  all  that  are 
in  authority ;  and  for  those  who  persecute  you,  and 
hate  you,  and  for  the  enemies  of  the  cross ;  that  your 
fruit  may  be  manifest  in  all ;  and  that  ye  may  be  per- 
fect in  Christ.  Ye  wrote  to  me,  both  ye,  and  also  Ig- 
natius, that  if  any  one  went  from  hence  into  Syria,  he 
should  bring  your  letters  with  him ;  which  also  I  will 
take  care  of,  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  a  convenient  op- 
portunity ;  either  by  myself,  or  him  whom  I  shall  send 
upon  your  account.  The  epistle  of  Ignatius  which 
he  wrote  unto  us,  together  with  what  others  of  his 
have  come  to  our  hands,  we  have  sent  to  you,  accord- 
ing to  your  order ;  which  are  subjoined  to  this  epistle : 


4-10  THE   BOOKS   OF    THE   BIBLE. 

By  which  ye  may  be  greatly  profited ;  for  they  treat 
of  faith  and  patience,  and  of  all  things  that  pertain  tc 
edification  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  What  you  know  cer- 
tainly of  Ignatius,  and  those  that  are  with  him,  signify 
unto  us.  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  by 
Crescens,  whom  by  this  present  epistle  I  have  recom- 
mended to  you,  and  do  now  again  commend.  For  he 
has  had  his  conversation  without  blame  among  us ;  and 
I  suppose  also  with  you.  Ye  will  also  have  regard 
unto  his  sister,  when  she  shall  come  unto  you.  Be  ye 
safe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  in  favor  with  all 
yours.     Amen. 

THE  SHEPHERD  OF  HERMAS. 

FROM    THE    FIRST    BOOK    OF    HERMAS    CALLED    VISIONS. 

He  who  had  bred  me  up  sold  a  certain  young  maid 
at  Rome  ;  whom  when  I  saw  many  years  after,  I  re- 
membered her,  and  began  to  love  her  as  a  sister.  It 
happened  some  time  afterwards,  that  I  saw  her  wash- 
ing at  the  river  Tyber,  and  I  reached  out  my  hand  to 
her,  and  led  her  away  from  the  river.  And  when  I 
saw  her,  I  thought  with  myself,  saying,  How  happy 
should  I  be  if  I  had  such  a  wife,  both  for  beauty  and 
manners !  This  I  thought  with  myself;  nor  did  I  think 
any  thing  more.  But  not  long  after,  as  I  was  walking, 
and  musing  on  these  thoughts,  I  began  to  honor  this 
creature  of  God,  thinking  with  myself  how  noble  and 
beautiful  she  was.  And  when  I  had  walked  a  little,  1 
fell  asleep.  And  the  Spirit  caught  me  away,  and  car> 
ried  me  through  a  certain  place  toward  the  right  hand^ 
through  which  no  man  could  pass.  It  was  a  place 
among  rocks,  very  steep,  and  unpassable  for  water. 
When  I  was  past  this  place,  I  came  into  a  plain  ;  and 


THE    HOLY     SEPULCHilE 


THE   APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  441 

there,  falling  down  upon  my  knees,  I  began  to  pray 
unto  the  Lord,  and  to  confess  my  sins.  And  as  I  was 
praying,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and  I  saw  the  woman 
whom  I  had  coveted,  saluting  me  from  heaven,  and 
saying,  Hermas,  hail !  and  I,  looking  upon  her,  an- 
swered. Lady,  what  dost  thou  do  here  ?  She  answered 
me,  I  am  taken  up  hither  to  accuse  thee  of  sin  before 
the  Lord.  Lady,  said  I,  Wilt  thou  convince  me  ?  No, 
said  she ;  but  hear  the  words  which  I  am  about  to 
speak  unto  thee.  God,  who  dwelleth  in  heaven,  and 
hath  made  all  things  out  of  nothing,  and  hath  multi- 
plied them  for  his  holy  church's  sake,  is  angry  with 
thee,  because  thou  hast  sinned  against  me.  And  I  an- 
swering said  unto  her.  Lady,  if  I  have  sinned  against 
thee,  tell  me  where,  or  in  what  place ;  or  when  did  I 
ever  speak  an  unseemly  or  dishonest  word  unto  thee  ? 
Have  I  not  always  esteemed  thee  as  a  lady  ?  Have  I 
not  always  reverenced  thee  as  a  sister  ?  Why  then  dost 
thou  imagine  these  wicked  things  against  me  ?  Then 
she,  smiling  upon  me,  said.  The  desire  of  naughtiness 
has  risen  up  in  thy  heart.  Does  it  not  seem  to  thee  to 
be  an  ill  thing  for  a  righteous  man  to  have  an  evil  de- 
sire rise  up  in  his  heart  ?  It  is  indeed  a  sin,  and  that 
a  very  great  one,  to  such  a  one ;  for  a  righteous  man 
thinketh  that  which  is  righteous.  And  whilst  he  does 
so,  and  walketh  uprightly,  he  shall  have  the  Lord  in 
heaven  favorable  unto  him  in  all  his  business.  But 
as  for  those  who  think  wickedly  in  their  hearts,  they 
take  to  themselves  death  and  captivity  ;  and  especially 
those  who  love  this  present  world,  and  glory  in  their 
riches,  and  regard  not  the  good  things  that  are  to 
come ;  their  souls  wander  up  and  down,  and  know  not 
where  to  fix.     Now  this  is  the  case  of  such  as  are 


442  BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

double-minded,  who  trust  not  in  the  Lord,  and  despise 
and  neglect  their  own  life.  But  do  thou  pray  unto 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  heal  thy  sins,  and  the  sins  of  thy 
whole  house,  and  of  all  his  saints.  As  soon  as  she  had 
spoken  these  words,  the  heavens  were  shut,  and  I  re- 
mained utterly  swallowed  up  with  sadness  and  fear ; 
and  said  within  myself.  If  this  be  laid  against  me  for 
sin,  how  can  I  be  saved  ?  Or  how  shall  I  ever  be  able 
to  entreat  the  Lord  for  my  many  and  great  sins? 
With  what  words  shall  I  beseech  him  to  be  merciful 
unto  me  ?  As  I  was  thinking  over  these  things,  and 
meditating  in  myself  upon  them,  behold  a  chair  was 
set  over  against  me  of  the  whitest  wool,  as  bright  as 
snow.  And  there  came  an  old  woman  in  a  bright  gar- 
ment, having  a  book  in  her  hand,  and  sat  alone,  and 
saluted  me,  saying,  Hermas,  hail !  And  I,  being  full 
of  sorrow,  and  weeping,  answered,  Hail,  Lady !  And 
she  said  unto  me.  Why  art  thou  sad,  Hermas,  who  wast 
wont  to  be  patient,  and  modest,  and  always  cheerful  ? 
I  answered,  and  said  to  her.  Lady,  a  reproach  has  been 
laid  to  my  charge  by  an  excellent  woman,  who  tells 
me  that  I  have  sinned  against  her.  She  replied.  Far 
be  any  such  thing  from  the  servant  of  God.  But  it 
may  be  the  desire  of  her  has  risen  up  in  thy  heart  ? 
For  indeed  such  a  thought  maketh  the  servants  of  God 
guilty  of  sin  ;  nor  ought  such  a  detestable  thought  to 
be  in  the  servants  of  God;  nor  should  he  who  is  ap- 
proved by  the  Spirit  desire  that  which  is  evil ;  but  es- 
pecially Hermas,  who  contains  himself  from  all  wicked 
lusts,  and  is  full  of  all  simplicity,  and  of  great  inno- 
cence. Nevertheless  the  Lord  is  not  so  much  angry 
with  thee  for  thine  own  sake,  as  upon  the  account  of 
thy  house,  which  has  committed  wickedness  against 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  443 

the  Lord,  and  against  their  parents.  And  for  that  out 
of  thy  fondness  towards  thy  sons,  thou  hast  not  ad- 
monished thy  house,  but  hast  permitted  them  to  live 
wickedly ;  for  this  cause  the  Lord  is  angry  with  thee : 
but  he  will  heal  all  the  evils  that  are  done  in  thy  house. 
For  through  their  sins  and  iniquities,  thou  art  wholly 
consumed  in  secular  affairs.  But  now  the  mercy  of 
God  hath  taken  compassion  upon  thee,  and  upon  thy 
house,  and  hath  greatly  comforted  thee.  Only  as  for 
thee,  do  not  wander,  but  be  of  an  even  mind,  and 
comfort  thy  house.  As  the  workman,  bringing  forth 
his  work,  offers  it  to  whomsoever  he  pleases ;  so  shalt 
thou,  by  teaching  every  day  what  is  just,  cut  off  a 
great  sin.  Wherefore  cease  not  to  admonish  thy  sons, 
for  the  Lord  knows  that  they  will  repent  with  all  their 
heart,  and  they  shall  be  written  in  the  book  of  life. 
And  when  she  had  said  this,  she  added  unto  me.  Wilt 
thou  hear  me  read  ? — I  answered  her.  Lady,  I  will. 
Hear,  then,  said  she ;  and  opening  the  book,  she  read, 
gloriously,  greatly,  and  wonderfully,  such  things  as  I 
could  not  keep  in  my  memory.  For  they  were  terri- 
ble words,  such  as  no  man  could  bear.  Howbeit  I 
committed  her  last  words  to  my  remembrance ;  for 
they  were  but  few,  and  of  great  use  to  us.  Behold 
the  mighty  Lord,  who  by  his  invisible  power,  and  with 
his  excellent  wisdom,  made  the  world,  and  by  his  glo- 
rious counsel  beautified  his  creature,  and  with  the 
word  of  his  strength  fixed  the  heaven,  and  founded 
the  earth  upon  the  waters ;  and  by  his  powerful  virtue 
established  his  Holy  Church,  which  he  hath  blessed : 
Behold,  he  will  remove  the  heavens,  and  the  moun- 
tains, the  hills,  and  the  seas ;  and  all  things  shall  be 


444  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

made  pLain  for  his  elect ;  that  he  may  render  unto  them 
the  promise  whicli  he  hath  promised  with  much  honor 
and  joy ;  if  so  be  that  they  shall  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  which  they  have  received  with  great 
faith.  And  when  she  had  made  an  end  of  reading, 
she  rose  out  of  the  chair ;  and  behold  four  young  men 
came,  and  carried  the  chair  to  the  east.  And  she 
called  me  unto  her,  and  touched  my  breast,  and  said 
unto  me,  Did  my  reading  please  thee  ? — I  answered, 
Lady,  these  last  things  please  me ;  but  what  went  be- 
fore was  severe  and  hard.  She  said  unto  me,  These 
last  things  are  for  the  righteous,  but  the  foregoing  for 
the  revolters  and  heathen.  And  as  she  was  talking 
with  me,  two  men  appeared,  and  took  her  upon  their 
shoulders,  and  went  to  the  east  where  the  chair  was. 
And  she  went  cheerfully  away  ;  and  as  she  was  going, 
said  unto  me,  Hermas,  be  of  good  cheer. 

As  I  was  on  the  way  to  Cuma,  about  the  same  time 
that  I  went  the  year  before,  I  began  to  call  to  mind 
the  vision  I  formerly  had.  And  again  the  Spirit  car- 
ried me  away,  and  brought  me  into  the  same  place,  in 
which  I  had  been  the  year  before.  And  when  I  was 
come  into  the  place,  I  fell  down  upon  my  knees,  and 
began  to  pray  unto  the  Lord,  and  to  glorify  his  name, 
that  he  had  esteemed  me  worthy,  and  had  manifested 
unto  me  my  former  sins.  And  when  I  arose  from 
prayer,  behold  I  saw  over  against  mo  the  old  woman 
whom  I  had  seen  the  last  year,  walking,  and  reading 
in  a  certain  book.  And  she  said  unto  me.  Canst  thou 
tell  these  things  to  the  elect  of  God  ? — I  answered, 
and  said  unto  her.  Lady,  I  cannot  retain  so  many 
things  in  my  memory,  but  give  me  the  book,   and  I 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  445 

will  write  them  down.  Take  it,  says  she,  and  see  that 
thou  restore  it  again  to  me.  As  soon  as  I  had  received 
it,  I  went  aside  into  a  certain  place  of  the  field,  and 
transcribed  every  letter,  for  I  found  no  syllables.  And 
as  soon  as  I  had  finished  what  was  written  in  the  book, 
the  book  was  suddenly  caught  out  of  my  hands,  but 
by  whom  I  saw  not.  After  fifteen  days,  when  I  had 
fasted,  and  entreated  the  Lord  with  all  earnestness, 
the  knowledge  of  the  writing  was  revealed  unto  me. 
Now  the  writing  was  this :  Thy  seed,  0  Hermas !  have 
sinned  against  the  Lord,  and'  have  betrayed  their  pa- 
rents, through  their  great  wickedness.  And  they  have 
been  called  the  betrayers  of  their  parents,  and  .have 
gone  on  in  their  treachery.  And  now  have  they  ad- 
ded lewdness  to  their  other  sins,  and  the  pollutions  of 
naughtiness :  thus  have  they  filled  up  the  measure  of 
their  iniquities.  But  do  thou  upbraid  thy  sons  with 
all  these  words ;  and  thy  wife,  which  shall  be  thy  sis- 
ter ;  and  let  her  refrain  her  tongue  with  which  she 
calumniates.  For  when  she  shall  hear  these  things, 
she  will  refrain  herself,  and  shall  obtain  mercy.  And 
they  also  shall  be  instructed  when  thou  shalt  have 
reproached  them  with  these  words,  which  the  Lord 
hath  commanded  to  be  revealed  unto  thee.  Then  shall 
their  sins  be  forgiven  which  they  have  heretofore  com- 
mitted, and  the  sins  of  all  the  saints,  who  have  sinned 
even  unto  this  day ;  if  they  shall  repent  with  all  their 
hearts,  and  remove  all  doubts  out  of  their  hearts. 
For  the  Lord  hath  sworn  by  his  glory  concerning  his 
elect,  having  determined  this  very  time,  that  if  any 
one  shall  even  now  sin,  he  shall  not  be  saved.  For 
the  repentance  of  the  righteous  has  its  end :  the  days 


446  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

of  repentance  are  fulfilled  to  all  the  saints  ;  but  to  tlie 
heathen,  there  is  repentance  even  unto  the  last  day. 
Thou  shalt  therefore  say  to  those  who  are  over  the 
church  ;  that  they  order  their  ways  in  righteousness ; 
that  they  may  fully  receive  the  promise  with  much 
glory.  Stand  fast,  therefore,  ye  that  work  righteous- 
ness ;  and  continue  to  do  it,  that  your  departure  may 
be  with  the  holy  angels.  Happy  are  ye,  as  many  as 
shall  endure  the  great  trial  that  is  at  hand,  and  whoso- 
ever shall  not  deny  his  life.  For  the  Lord  hath  sworn 
by  his  Son,  that  whoso  denyeth  his  son  and  him,  being 
afraid  of  his  life,  he  will  also  deny  him  in  the  world 
that  is  to  come.  But  those  who  shall  never  deny  him, 
he  will  of  his  exceeding  great  mercy  be  favourable 
unto  them.  But  thou,  0  Hermas !  remember  not  the 
evils  which  thy  sons  have  done,  neither  neglect  thy 
sister,  but  take  care  that  they  amend  of  their  former 
sins.  For  they  will  be  instructed  by  this  doctrine,  if 
thou  shalt  not  be  mindful  of  what  they  have  done 
wickedly.  For  the  remembrance  of  evils  worketh 
death  ;  but  the  forgetting  of  them,  life  eternal.  But 
thou,  0  Hermas !  hast  undergone  a  great  many  worldly 
troubles  for  the  offences  of  thy  house,  because  thou 
hast  neglected  them,  as  things  that  did  not  belong  unto 
thee :  and  thou  art  wholly  taken  up  with  thy  great 
business.  Nevertheless  for  this  cause  shalt  thou  be 
saved,  that  thou  hast  not  departed  from  tlic  living 
God ;  and  thy  simplicity  and  singular  contincncy  shall 
preserve  thee,  if  thou  shalt  continue  in  them.  Yea, 
they  shall  save  all  such  as  do  such  things ;  and  walk 
in  innocence  and  simplicity.  They  who  are  of  this 
kind,  shall  prevail  against  all  impiety,  and  continue 
unto  life  eternal. 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  447 


FROM  THE  SECOND  BOOK  OF  HERMAS  CALLED  COMMANDS. 

When  I  had  prayed  at  home,  and  was  sat  down 
upon  the  bed,  a  certain  man  came  into  me  with  a  rev- 
erend look,  in  the  habit  of  a  shepherd,  clothed  with 
a  white  cloak,  having  his  bag  upon  his  back,  and  his 
staff  in  his  hand,  and  saluted  me.  I  returned  his  salu- 
tation ;  and  immediately  he  sat  down  by  me,  and  said 
unto  me,  I  am  sent  by  that  venerable  messenger,  that 
I  should  dwell  with  thee  all  the  remaining  days  of  thy 
life.  But  I  thought  that  he  was  come  to  try  me,  and 
said  unto  him  Who  art  thou  ?  For  I  know  to  whom 
I  am  committed.  He  said  unto  me.  Do  you  not  know 
me  ?  I  answered,  No.  I  am,  said  he,  that  shepherd, 
to  whose  care  you  are  delivered.  Whilst  he  was  yet 
speaking,  his  shape  was  changed ;  and  when  I  knew 
that  it  was  he  to  whom  I  was  committed,  I  was  ashamed 
and  a  sudden  fear  came  upon  me,  and  I  was  utterly 
overcome  with  sadness,  because  I  had  spoken  so  fool- 
ishly unto  him.  But  he  said  unto  me,  Be  not  ashamed, 
but  receive  strength  in  thy  mind,  through  the  com- 
mands which  I  am  about  to  deliver  unto  thee.  For, 
said  he,  I  am  sent  to  show  unto  thee  all  those  things 
again,  which  thou  hast  seen  before ;  but  especially 
such  of  them  as  may  be  of  most  use  unto  thee.  And 
first  of  all  write  my  Commands  and  Similitudes ;  the 
rest  thou  shalt  so  write  as  I  shall  show  unto  thee. 
But  I  therefore  bid  the  first  of  all  write  my  Commands 
and  Similitudes,  that  by  often  reading  of  them,  thou 
mayest  the  more  easily  keep  them  in  memory.  Where- 
upon I  wrote  his  Commands  and  Similitudes,  as  he 
bade  me.     Which  things  if,  when  you  have  heard  ye 


448  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

shall  observe  to  do  tliem,  and  shall  walk  according  to 
tliem,  and  exercise  yourselves  in  them,  with  a  pure 
mind,  ye  shall  receive  from  the  Lord  those  things 
which  he  has  promised  unto  you.  But  if,  having  heard 
them,  ye  shall  not  repent,  but  shall  still  go  on  to 
add  to  your  sins,  ye  shall  be  punished  by  him.  All 
these  things  that  shepherd,  the  angel  of  repentance, 
commanded  me  to  write. 

First  of  all,  believe  that  there  is  but  one  God,  who 
created  and  framed  all  things  of  nothing  into  being. 
He  comprehends  all  things,  and  is  only  immense,  not 
to  be  comprehended  by  any.  Who  can  neither  be 
defined  by  any  words,  nor  conceived  by  the  mind. 
Therefore  believe  in  him,  and  fear  him ;  and  fearing 
him,  abstaili  from  all  evil.  Keep  these  things,  and 
cast  all  lust  and  iniquity  far  from  thee;  and  put  on 
righteousness ;  and  thou  shalt  live  to  God,  if  thou  shalt 
keep  his  commandments. 

He  said  unto  me.  Be  innocent,  and  without  disguise ; 
so  shalt  thou  be  like  an  infant  who  knows  no  malice, 
which  destroys  the  life  of  man.  Especially  see  that 
thou  speak  evil  of  none ;  nor  willingly  hear  any  one 
speak  evil  of  any.  For  if  thou  observest  not  this, 
thou  also  who  hcarest,  shalt  be  partaker  of  the  sin  of 
him  that  speaketh  evil  by  believing  the  slander,  and 
thou  also  shalt  have  sin ;  because  thou  believedst 
him  that  spake  evil  of  thy  brother.  Detraction  is  a 
pernicious  thing ;  an  inconstant,  evil  spirit ;  that  never 
continues  in  peace,  but  is  always  in  discord.  Where- 
fore refrain  thyself  from  it ;  and  keep  peace  evermore 
with  thy  brother.  Put  on  a  holy  constancy,  in  which 
there  are  no  sins,  but  all  is  full  of  joy ;  and  do  good 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  449 

of  thy  labours.  Give  without  distinction  to  all  that 
are  in  want ;  not  doubting  to  whom  thou  givest.  But 
give  to  all ;  for  God  will  have  us  give  to  all,  of  all 
his  own  gifts.  They  therefore  that  receive  shall  give 
an  account  to  God,  both  wherefore  they  receive,  and 
for  what  end.  And  they  that  receive  without  a  real 
need,  shall  give  an  account  for  it ;  but  he  that  gives 
shall  be  innocent :  for  he  has  fulfilled  his  duty  as  he 
received  it  from  God ;  not  making  any  choice  to  whom 
he  should  give,  and  to  whom  not.  And  this  service 
he  did  with  simplicity,  and  to  the  glory  of  God.  Keep 
therefore  this  command  according  as  I  have  delivered 
it  unto  thee ;  that  thy  repentance  may  be  found  to  be 
sincere,  and  that  good  may  come  to  thy  house ;  and 
thou  mayest  have  a  pure  heart. 

Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  Love  truth  and  let  all 
the  speech  be  true  which  proceeds  out  of  thy  mouth ; 
that  the  spirit  which  the  Lord  hath  given  to  dwell  in 
thy  flesh  may  be  found  true  towards  all  men ;  and 
the  Lord  be  glorified,  who  hath  given  such  a  spirit 
unto  thee ;  because  God  is  true  in  all  his  words,  and 
in  him  there  is  no  lie.  They  therefore  that  lie,  deny 
the  Lord  ;  and  become  robbers  of  the  Lord ;  not  ren- 
dering to  God  what  they  received  from  him.  For 
they  received  the  Spirit  free  from  lying :  if  therefore 
they  make  that  a  liar,  they  defile  what  was  committed 
to  them  by  the  Lord,  and  become  deceivers.  When 
I  heard  this  I  wept  bitterly.  And  when  he  saw  me 
weeping,  he  said  unto  me,  Why  weepest  thou  ?  And 
I  said,  Because,  sir,  I  doubt  whether  I  can  be  saved. 
He  asked  me.  Wherefore  ?  I  replied,  Because,  sir,  I 
never  spake  a  true  word  in  my  life ;  but  always  lived 
29 


450  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

in  dissimulation,  and  afl&rmed  a  lie  for  trutli  to  all  men  ; 
and  no  man  contradicted  me,  but  all  gave  credit  to 
my  words.  How  then  can  I  live,  seeing  I  have  done 
in  this  manner  ?  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou  thinkest 
well  and  truly.  For  thou  oughtest,  as  the  servant  of 
God,  to  have  walked  in  the  truth,  and  not  have  joined 
an  evil  conscience  with  the  Spirit  of  truth ;  nor  have 
grieved  the  holy  and  true  Spirit  of  God.  And  I  replied 
unto  him.  Sir,  I  never  before  hearkened  so  diligently 
to  these  things.  He  answered.  Now  thou  hearest 
them :  take  care  from  henceforth,  that  even  those  things 
which  thou  hast  formerly  spoken  falsely  for  the  sake 
of  thy  business,  may,  by  thy  present  truth,  receive 
credit.  For  even  those  things  may  be  credited,  if  for 
the  time  to  come  thou  shalt  speak  the  truth ;  and  by 
so  doing  thou  mayest  attain  unto  life.  And  whosoever 
shall  hearken  unto  this  command,  and  do  it,  and  shall 
depart  from  all  lying,  he  shall  live  unto  God. 

Furthermore,  said  he,  I  command  thee,  that  thou 
keep  thyself  chaste;  and  that  thou  suiTor  not  any 
thought  of  any  other  marriage,  or  of  fornication,  to 
enter  into  thy  heart :  for  such  a  thought  produces  a 
great  sin.  But  be  thou  at  all  times  mindful  of  the 
Lord,  and  thou  shalt  never  sin.  For  if  such  an  evil 
thought  should  arise  in  thy  heart,  thou  shouldest  be 
guilty  of  a  great  sin ;  and  they  who  do  such  things, 
follow  the  way  of  death.  Look  therefore  to  thyself, 
and  keep  thyself  from  such  a  thought  :  for  where 
chastity  remains  in  the  heart  of  a  righteous  man,  there 
an  evil  thought  ought  never  to  arise.  And  I  said  unto 
him,  Sir,  suffer  me  to  speak  a  little  to  you.  He  bade 
me  say  on.     And  I  answered,  Sir,  if  a  man  that  is 


THE     APOCRYPLAL     EPISTLES.  451 

faithful  in  the  Lord,  shall  have  a  wife,  and  shall  catch 
her  in  adultery,  doth  a  man  sin  that  continueth  to  live 
still  with  her  ?  And  he  said  unto  me.  As  long  as  he 
is  ignorant  of  her  sin,  he  commits  no  fault  in  living 
with  her :  but  if  a  man  shall  know  his  wife  to  have 
offended,  and  she  shall  not  repent  of  her  sin,  but  go 
on  still  in  her  fornication,  and  a  man  shall  continue 
nevertheless  to  live  with  her,  he  shall  become  guilty 
of  her  sin,  and  partake  with  her  in  her  adultery.  And 
I  said  unto  him.  What  therefore  is  to  be  done,  if  the 
woman  continues  on  in  her  sin  ?  he  answered,  Let  her 
husband  put  her  away,  and  let  him  continue  by  him- 
self But  if  he  shall  put  away  his  wife  and  marry  an- 
other, he  also  doth  commit  adultery.  And  I  said, 
What  if  the  woman  that  is  so  put  away,  shall  repent, 
and  be  willing  to  return  to  her  husband  ?  shall  she  not 
be  received  by  him  ?  He  said  unto  me,  Yes ;  and  if 
her  husband  shall  not  receive  her,  he  will  sin;  and 
commit  a  great  offence  against  himself:  but  he  ought 
to  receive  the  offender  if  she  repents ;  only  not  often. 
For  to  the  servants  of  God  there  is  but  one  repent- 
ance. And  for  this  cause  a  man  that  putteth  away  his 
wife  ought  not  to  take  another,  because  she  may  re- 
pent. This  act  is  alike  both  in  the  man  and  in  the 
woman.  Now  they  commit  adultery,  not  only  who 
pollute  their  flesh,  but  who  also  make  an  image.  If 
therefore  a  woman  perseveres  in  anything  of  this  kind, 
and  repents  not,  depart  from  her,  and  live  not  with  her : 
otherwise  thou  also  shall  be  partaker  of  her  sin. 


452  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 


FROM  THE  THHID  BOOK  OF  HERMAS  CALLED  SIMILITUDES. 

After  a  few  days  I  saw  the  same  person  that  before 
talked  with  me,  in  the  same  field,  in  which  I  had  seen 
those  shepherds.  And  he  said  unto  me,  what  seekest 
thou  ?  Sir,  said  I,  I  come  to  entreat  you  that  you 
would  command  the  shepherd,  who  is  the  minister  of 
punishment,  to  depart  out  of  my  house,  because  he 
greatly  affiicts  me.  And  he  answered,  it  is  necessary 
for  thee  to  endure  inconveniences  and  vexations ;  for 
so  that  good  angel  hath  commanded  concerning  thee, 
because  he  would  try  thee.  Sir,  said  I,  what  so  great 
offence  have  I  committed,  that  I  should  be  delivered 
to  this  messenger  ?  Hearken,  said  he ;  thou  art  indeed 
guilty  of  many  sins,  yet  not  so  many  that  thou  shouldest 
be  delivered  to  this  messenger.  But  thy  house  hath 
committed  many  sins  and  offences,  and  therefore  that 
good  messenger,  being  grieved  at  their  doings,  com- 
manded that  for  some  time  thou  shouldest  suffer  afflic- 
tion ;  that  they  may  both  repent  of  what  they  have 
done,  and  may  wash  themselves  from  all  the  lusts  of 
this  present  world.  When  therefore  they  shall  have 
repented,  and  be  purified,  then  that  messenger  which 
is  appointed  over  thy  punishments  shall  depart  from 
thee.  I  said  unto  him,  Sir  if  they  have  behaved  them- 
selves so  as  to  anger  that  good  angel,  yet  what  have  I 
done  ?  He  answered.  They  can  not  otherwise  be 
afflicted,  unless  thou,  who  art  the  head  of  the  family, 
suffer.  For  whatsoever  thou  shalt  suffer,  they  must 
needs  feel  it :  but  as  long  as  thou  shalt  stand  well  es- 
tablished, they  can  not  experience  any  vexation.  I 
replied.  But,  sir,  behold  they  also  now  repent  with  all 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   EPISTLES.  453 

their  hearts.  I  know,  says  he,  that  they  repent  with 
all  their  hearts ;  but  dost  thou  therefore  think,  that 
their  offences  who  repent,  are  immediately  blotted 
out  ?  No,  they  are  not  presently ;  but  he  that  repents 
must  afflict  his  soul,  and  show  himself  humble  in  all 
his  affairs,  and  undergo  many  and  divers  vexations. 
And  when  he  shall  have  suffered  all  things  that  were 
appointed  for  him,  then  perhaps  he  that  made  him,  and 
formed  all  things  besides,  will  be  moved  with  compas- 
sion towards  him,  and  afford  him  some  remedy ;  and 
especially  if  he  shall  perceive  his  heart,  who  repents, 
to  be  pure  from  every  evil  word.  But  at  present  it  is 
expedient  for  thee,  and  for  thy  house,  to  be  grieved ; 
and  it  is  needful  that  thou  shouldest  endure  much  vex- 
ation, as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  who  committed  thee 
unto  me,  has  commanded.  Rather  give  thanks  unto 
the  Lord,  that  knowing  what  was  to  come,  he  thought 
thee  worthy  to  whom  he  should  foretell  that  trouble 
was  coming  upon  thee,  who  art  able  to  bear  it.  I  said 
unto  him,  Sir,  be  but  thou  also  with  me,  and  I  shall  easily 
undergo  any  trouble.  I  will,  said  he,  be  with  thee ;  and 
I  will  entreat  the  messenger  who  is  set  over  thy  pun- 
ishment, that  he  would  moderate  his  afflictions  towards 
thee.  And  moreover  thou  shalt  suffer  adversity  but 
for  a  little  time ;  and  then  thou  shalt  again  be  restored 
to  thy  former  state ;  only  continue  on  in  the  humility 
of  thy  mind.  Obey  the  Lord  with  a  pure  heart,  thou, 
and  thy  house,  and  thy  children ;  and  walk  in  the 
commands  which  I  have  delivered  unto  thee  ;  and  then 
thy  repentance  may  be  firm  and  pure.  And  if  thou 
shalt  keep  these  things  with  thy  house,  thy  inconven- 
iencies  shall  depart  from  thee.     And  all  vexation  shall 


454  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

in  like  manner  depart  from  all  those,  whosoever  shall 
walk  according  to  these  commands. 

Again  he  showed  me  a  willow  which  covered  the 
fields  and  the  mountains,  under  whose  shadow  came 
all  such  as  were  called  by  the  name  of  the  Lord.  And 
by  that  willow  stood  an  angel  of  the  Lord  very  excel- 
lent and  lofty ;  and  did  cut  down  boughs  from  that 
willow  with  a  great  hook ;  and  reached  out  to  the 
people  that  were  under  the  shadow  of  that  willow  lit- 
tle rods,  as  it  were  about  a  foot  long.  And  when  all 
of  them  had  taken  them,  he  laid  aside  his  hook,  and 
the  tree  continued  entire,  as  I  had  before  seen  it.  At 
which  I  wondered,  and  mused  within  myself  Then  that 
shepherd  said  unto  me.  Forbear  to  wonder  that  that 
tree  continues  whole,  notwithstanding  so  many  boughs 
have  been  cut  off  from  it ;  but  stay  a  little,  for  now  it 
shall  be  shown  thee  what  that  angel  means,  who  gave 
those  rods  to  the  people.  So  he  again  demanded  the 
rods  of  them ;  and  in  the  same  order  that  every  one 
had  received  them,  was  he  called  to  him,  and  restored 
his  rod ;  which  when  he  had  received,  he  examined 
them.  From  some  he  received  them  dry  and  rotten, 
and  as  it  were  touched  with  the  moth ;  those  he  com- 
manded to  be  separated  from  the  rest,  and  placed  by 
themselves.  Others  gave  him  their  rods  dry  indeed, 
but  not  touched  with  the  moth ;  these  also  he  ordered 
to  be  set  by  themselves.  Others  gave  in  their  rods 
half  dry  ;  these  also  were  set  apart.  Others  gave  in 
their  rods  half  dry  and  cleft ;  these  too  were  set  by 
themselves.  Otliers  brought  in  their  rods  half  dry  and 
half  green,  and  these  were  in  like  manner  placed  by 
themselves.     Others  delivered  up  their  rods  two  parts 


THE   APOCRYPHAL   EPISTLES.  455 

green,  and  the  third  dry ;  and  they  too  were  set  apart. 
Others  brought  their  rods  two  parts  dry,  and  the  third 
green  ;  and  were  also  placed  by  themselves.  Others 
delivered  up  their  rods  less  dry  (for  there  was  but  a 
very  little,  to  wit,  their  tops  dry),  but  they  had  clefts, 
and  these  were  set  in  like  manner  by  themselves.  In 
the  rods  of  others  there  was  but  a  little  green,  and  the 
rest  dry;  and  these  were  set  aside  by  themselves. 
Others  came,  and  brought  their  rods  green  as  they  had 
received  them,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  people 
brought  their  rods  thus ;  and  the  messenger  greatly 
rejoiced  at  these,  and  they  also  were  put  apart  by 
themselves.  Others  brought  their  rods  not  only  green 
but  full  of  branches ;  and  these  were  set  aside,  being 
also  received  by  the  angel  with  great  joy.  Others 
brought  their  rods  green  with  branches,  and  those  also 
some  fruit  upon  them.  They  who  had  such  rods  were 
very  cheerful ;  and  the  angel  himself  took  great  joy 
at  them ;  nor  was  the  shepherd  that  stood  with  me 
less  pleased  with  them.  Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
commanded  crowns  to  be  brought ;  and  the  crowns 
were  brought  made  of  palms ;  and  the  angel  crowned 
those  men  in  whose  rods  he  found  the  young  branches 
with  fruit ;  and  commanded  them  to  go  into  the  tower. 
He  also  sent  those  into  the  tower,  in  whose  rods  he 
found  branches  without  fruit,  giving  a  seal  unto  them. 
For  they  had  the  same  garment,  that  is,  one  white  as 
snow ;  with  which  he  bade  them  go  into  the  tower. 
And  so  he  did  to  those  who  returned  their  rods  green 
as  they  received  them ;  giving  them  a  white  garment, 
and  so  sent  them  away  to  go  into  the  tower.  Having 
done  this,  he  said  to  the  shepherd  that  was  with  me,  I 


456  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

go  my  way :  but  do  thou  send  these  within  the  walls, 
every  one  into  the  place  in  which  he  has  deserved  to 
dwell;  examine  first  their  rods,  but  examine  them 
diligently,  that  no  one  deceive  thee.  But  and  if  any 
one  shall  escape  thee,  I  will  try  them  upon  the  altar. 
Having  said  this  to  the  shepherd,  he  departed.  After 
he  was  gone  the  shepherd  said  unto  me,  Let  us  take 
the  rods  from  them  all,  and  plant  them ;  if  perchance 
they  may  grow  green  again.  I  said  unto  him,  Sir, 
how  can  those  dry  rods  ever  grow  green  again  ?  He 
answered  me,  That  tree  is  a  willow,  and  always  loves 
to  live.  If  therefore  these  rods  shall  be  planted,  and 
receive  a  little  moisture,  many  of  them  will  recover 
themselves.  Wherefore  I  will  try,  and  will  pour  water 
upon  them,  and  if  any  of  them  can  live,  I  will  rejoice 
with  him ;  but  if  not,  at  least  by  this  means  I  shall  be 
found  not  to  have  neglected  my  part.  Then  he  com- 
manded me  to  call  them ;  and  they  all  came  unto  him, 
every  one  in  the  rank  in  which  he  stood,  and  gave  him 
their  rods ;  which  having  received,  he  planted  every 
one  of  them  in  their  several  orders.  And  after  he  had 
planted  them  all,  he  poured  much  water  upon  them, 
insomuch  that  they  were  covered  with  water,  and  did 
not  appear  above  it.  Then  when  he  had  watered 
them,  he  said  unto  me.  Let  us  depart,  and  after  a  lit- 
tle time  we  will  return  and  visit  them.  For  he  who 
created  this  tree,  would  have  all  those  live  that  re- 
ceived rods  from  it.  And  I  hope,  now  that  these  rods 
are  thus  watered,  many  of  them,  receiving  in  the 
moisture,  will  recover.  I  said  unto  him.  Sir,  tell  me 
what  this  tree  denotes  ?  For  I  am  greatly  astonished, 
that  after  so  many  branches  have  been  cut  off,  it  seems 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  457 

still  to  be  whole ;  nor  does  there  any  thing  the  less  of 
it  appear  to  remain,  which  greatly  amazes  me.  He 
answered,  Hearken.  This  great  tree  which  covers  the 
plains  and  the  mountains,  and  all  the  earth,  is  the  law 
of  God,  published  throughout  the  whole  world.  Now 
this  law  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  preached  to  all  the 
ends  of  the  earth.  The  people  that  stand  under  its 
shadow,  are  those  which  have  heard  his  preaching,  and 
believed.  The  great  and  venerable  angel  which  you 
saw,  was  Michael,  who  has  the  power  over  this  people, 
and  governs  them.  For  he  has  planted  the  law  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  have  believed :  and  therefore  he 
visits  them  to  whom  he  has  given  the  law,  to  see  if 
they  have  kept  it.  And  he  examines  every  one's  rod ; 
and  of  those,  many  that  are  weakened :  for  those  rods 
are  the  law  of  the  Lord.  Then  he  discerns  all  those 
who  have  not  kept  the  law,  knowing  the  place  of  every 
one  of  them.  I  said  unto  him.  Sir,  why  did  he  send 
away  some  to  the  tower,  and  left  others  here  to  you  ? 
He  replied,  Those  who  have  transgressed  the  law  which 
they  received  from  him,  are  left  in  my  power,  that 
they  may  repent  of  their  sins :  but  they  who  fulfilled 
the  law  and  kept  it,  are  under  his  power.  But  who 
then,  said  I,  are  those  who  went  into  the  tower  crown- 
ed? He  replied.  All  such  as  have  striven  with  the 
devil,  and  have  overcome  him,  are  crowned :  and  they  are 
those  who  have  suffered  hard  things,  that  they  might 
keep  the  law.  But  they  who  gave  up  their  rods  green, 
and  with  young  branches,  but  without  fruit,  have  in- 
deed endured  trouble  for  the  same  law,  but  have  not 
suffei^ed  death ;  neither  have  they  denied  their  holy 
law.     They  who  delivered  up  their  rods  green  as  they 


458  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

received  them,  are  those  who  were  modest  and  just, 
and  have  lived  with  a  very  pure  mind,  and  kept  the 
commandments  of  God.  The  rest  thou  shalt  know, 
when  I  shall  have  considered  those  rods  which  I  have 
planted  and  watered.  After  a  few  days  we  returned, 
and  in  the  same  place  stood  that  glorious  angel,  and  I 
stood  by  him.  Then  he  said  unto  me,  Gird  thysell 
with  a  towel,  and  serve  me.  And  I  girded  myself 
with  a  clean  towel,  which  was  made  of  coarse  cloth. 
And  when  he  saw  me  girded,  and  ready  to  minister 
unto  him,  he  said,  Call  those  men  whose  rods  have 
been  planted,  every  one  in  his  order  as  they  gave 
them.  And  he  brought  me  into  the  field,  and  I  called 
them  all,  and  they  all  stood  ready  in  their  several 
ranks.  Then  he  said  unto  them.  Let  every  one  pluck 
up  his  rod,  and  bring  it  unto  me.  And  first  they  de- 
livered theirs,  whose  rods  had  been  dry  and  rotten. 
And  those  whose  rods  still  continued  so  he  command- 
ed to  stand  apart.  Then  they  came  whose  rods  had 
been  dry,  but  not  rotten.  Some  of  these  delivered 
in  their  rods  green ;  others  dry  and  rotten,  as  if  they 
had  been  touched  by  the  moth.  Those  who  gave 
them  up  green,  he  commanded  to  stand  apart;  but 
those  whose  rods  were  dry  and  rotten,  he  caused  to 
stand  with  the  first  sort.  Then  came  they  whose  rods 
had  been  half  dry,  and  cleft :  many  of  these  gave  up 
their  rods  green,  and  uncleft.  Others  delivered  them 
up  green  with  branches,  and  fruit  upon  the  branches, 
like  unto  theirs  who  went  crowned  into  the  tower. 
Others  delivered  them  up  dry,  but  not  rotten :  and 
some  gave  them  as  they  were  before,  half  dry,,  and 
cleft.     Every  one  of  these  he  ordered  to  stand  apart ; 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLES.  459 

some  by  themselves,  others  in  their  respective  ranks. 
Then  came  they  whose  rods  had  been  green,  but  cleft. 
These  delivered  their  rods  altogether  green,  and  stood 
in  their  own  order.  And  the  shepherd  rejoiced  at 
these,  because  they  were  all  changed,  and  free  from 
their  clefts.  Then  they  gave  in  their  rods,  who  had 
them  half  green  and  half  dry.  Of  these  some  were 
found  wholly  green,  others  half  dry;  others  green 
with  young  shoots.  And  all  these  were  sent  away, 
every  one  to  his  proper  rank.  Then  they  gave  up 
their  rods,  who  had  them  before  two  parts  green,  and 
the  third  dry.  Many  of  these  gave  in  their  rods  green ; 
many  half  dry  ;  the  rest  dry,  but  not  rotten.  So  these 
were  sent  away,  each  to  his  proper  place.  Then  came 
they  who  had  before  their  rods  two  parts  dry  and  the 
third  green ;  many  of  these  delivered  up  their  rods 
half  dry ;  others  dry  and  rotten ;  others  half  dry  and 
cleft ;  but  few  green.  And  all  these  were  set  every 
one  in  his  own  rank.  Then  they  reached  in  their  rods, 
in  which  there  was  before  but  a  little  green,  and  the 
rest  dry.  Their  rods  were  for  the  most  part  found 
green,  having  little  boughs,  with  fruit  upon  them  ; 
and  the  rest  altogether  green.  And  the  shepherd  up- 
on sight  of  these  rejoiced  exceedingly,  because  he  had 
found  them  thus :  and  they  also  went  to  their  proper 
orders.  Now  after  he  had  examined  all  their  rods,  he 
said  unto  me,  I  told  thee  that  this  tree  loved  life  ;  thou 
seest  how  many  have  repented,  and  attained  unto  sal- 
vation. Sir,  said  I,  I  see  it.  That  thou  mightest 
know,  saith  he,  that  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the 
Lord  is  great,  and  to  be  had  in  honor ;  who  gave  his 
spirit  to  them  that  were  found  worthy  of  repentance. 


460  BOOKS   OF    THE   BIBLE. 

I  answered,  Sir,  why  then  did  not  all  of  them  repent  ? 
He  replied^  Those  whose  minds  the  Lord  foresaw 
would  be  pure,  and  that  they  would  serve  him  with 
all  their  hearts,  to  them  he  gave  repentance.  But  for 
those  whose  deceit  and  wickedness  he  beheld,  and  per- 
ceived that  they  would  not  truly  return  unto  him,  to 
them  he  denied  any  return  unto  repentance,  lest  they 
should  again  blaspheme  his  law  with  wicked  words.  I 
said  unto  him,  Now^  sir,  make  known  unto  me,  what  is 
the  place  of  every  one  of  those  who  have  given  up 
their  rods,  and  what  their  portion ;  that  when  they 
who  have  not  kept  their  seal  entire,  but  have  wasted 
the  seal  which  they  received,  shall  hear  and  believe 
these  things,  they  may  acknowledge  their  evil  deeds 
and  repent ;  and  receiving  again  their  seal  from  you, 
may  give  glory  to  God,  that  he  was  moved  with  com- 
passion towards  them,  and  sent  you  to  renew  their 
spirits.  Hearken,  said  he ;  They  whose  rods  have  been 
found  dry  and  rotten,  and  as  it  were  touched  with  the 
moth,  are  the  deserters  and  the  betrayers  of  the  church. 
Who,  with  the  rest  of  their  crimes,  have  also  blasphem- 
ed the  Lord,  and  denied  his  name  which  had  been 
called  upon  them.  Therefore  all  these  are  dead  unto 
God ;  and  thou  seest  that  none  of  them  have  repented, 
although  they  have  heard  my  commands  which  thou 
hast  delivered  unto  them.  From  these  men  therefore 
life  is  far  distant.  They  also  who  have  delivered  up 
their  rods  dry,  but  not  rotten,  have  not  been  far  from 
them.  For  they  have  been  counterfeits,  and  brought 
in  evil  doctrines ;  and  have  perverted  the  servants  of 
God ;  but  especially  those  who  had  sinned ;  not  suffer- 
ing them  to  return  unto  repentance,  but  keeping  them 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  461 

back  by  their  false  doctrines.  These  therefore  have 
hope;  and  thou  seest  that  many  of  them  have  re- 
pented, since  the  time  that  thou  hast  laid  my  com- 
mands before  them ;  and  many  more  will  yet  repent 
but  they  that  shall  not  repent,  shall  lose  both  repent- 
ance and  life.  But  Vnej  that  have  repented,  their 
place  has  begun  to  be  within  the  first  walls,  and  some 
of  them  are  even  gone  into  the  tower.  Thou  seest 
therefore,  said  he,  that  in  the  repentance  of  sinners 
there  is  life ;  but  for  those  that  repent  not,  death  is 
prepared.  Hear  now  concerning  those  who  gave  in 
their  rods  half  dry,  and  full  of  clefts.  They  whose 
rods  were  only  half  dry,  are  the  doubtful ;  for  they 
are  neither  living  nor  dead.  But  they  who  delivered 
in  their  rods  not  only  half  dry,  but  also  full  of  clefts, 
are  both  doubtful  and  evil  speakers ;  who  detract  from 
those  that  are  absent,  and  have  never  peace  among 
themselves,  and  that  envy  one  another.  Howbeit  to 
these  also  repentance  is  offered ;  for  thou  seest  that 
some  of  these  have  repented.  Now  all  those  of  this 
kind  who  have  quickly  repented,  shall  have  a  place  in 
the  tower ;  but  they  who  have  been  more  slow  in  their 
repentance,  shall  dwell  within  the  walls ;  but  they  that 
shall  not  repent,  but  shall  continue  on  in  their  wicked 
doings,  shall  die  the  death.  As  for  those  who  liad 
their  rOds  green,  but  yet  cleft,  they  are  such  as  were 
always  faithful  and  good,  but  they  had  some  enmity 
and  strife  among  themselves  concerning  dignity  and 
pre-eminence.  Now  all  such  are  vain  and  without  un- 
derstanding, as  contend  with  one  another  about  these 
things.  Nevertheless,  seeing  they  are  otherwise  good, 
if  when  they  shall  hear  these  commands,  they  shall 


402  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

amend  themselves,  and  shall  at  my  persuasion  suddenly 
repent;  they  shall  at  last  dwell  in  the  tower,  as  they 
who  have  truly  and  worthily  repented.  But  if  any  one 
shall  again  return  to  his  dissension,  he  shall  be  shut 
out  from  the  tower,  and  shall  lose  his  life.  For  the 
life  of  those  who  keep  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord,  consists  in  doing  what  they  are  commanded; 
not  in  principality,  or  in  any  other  dignity.  For 
by  forbearance  and  humility  of  mind,  men  shall 
attain  unto  life ;  but  by  seditions,  and  contempt  of  the 
law,  they  shall  purchase  death  unto  themselves.  They 
who  in  their  rods  had  half  dry  and  half  green,  are 
those  who  are  engaged  in  many  affairs  of  the  world ; 
and  are  not  joined  to  the  saints ;  for  which  cause  half 
of  them  liveth,  and  half  is  dead.  Wherefore  many 
of  these,  since  the  time  that  they  have  heard  my  com- 
mands, have  repented  and  begun  to  dwell  in  the  tower. 
But  some  of  them  have  wholly  fallen  away ;  to  these 
there  is  no  more  place  for  repentance.  For  by  reason 
of  their  present  interests,  they  have  blasphemed  and 
denied  God ;  and  for  this  wickedness  they  have  lost 
life.  And  of  these  many  are  still  in  doubt ;  these  may 
yet  return  ;  and  if  they  shall  quickly  repent,  they  shall 
have  a  place  in  the  tower ;  but  if  they  shall  be  more 
slow,  they  shall  dwell  without  the  walls ;  but  if  they 
shall  not  repent  they  shall  die.  As  for  those  who  had 
two  parts  of  their  rods  green,  and  the  third  dry ;  they 
have  by  manifold  ways  denied  the  Lord.  Of  these 
many  have  repented,  and  found  a  place  in  the  tower; 
and  many  have  altogether  departed  from  God.  These 
liave  utterly  lost  life.  And  some,  being  in  a  doubtful 
state,  have  raised  up  dissensions  :  these  may  yet  return, 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  463 

if  thej  shall  suddenly  repent,  and  not  continue  in  their 
lusts ;  but  if  they  shall  continue  in  their  evil  doing 
they  shall  die.  They  who  gave  in  their  rods  two  parts 
dry,  and  the  other  green,  are  those  who  have  indeed 
been  faithful,  but  withal  rich  and  full  of  good  things ; 
and  thereupon  have  desired  to  be  famous  among  the 
heathen  which  are  without,  and  have  thereby  fallen 
into  great  pride,  and  begun  to  aim  at  high  matters, 
and  to  forsake  the  truth :  nor  were  they  joined  to  the 
saints,  but  lived  with  the  heathen ;  and  this  life  seemed 
the  more  pleasant  to  them.  Howbeit  they  have  not 
departed  from  God,  but  continued  in  the  faith ;  only 
they  have  not  wrought  the  works  of  faith.  Many 
therefore  of  these  have  repented ;  and  begun  to  dwell 
in  the  tower.  Yet  others  still  living  among  the 
heathen  people,  and  being  lifted  up  with  their  vanities, 
have  utterly  fallen  away  from  God,  and  followed  the 
works  and  wickednesses  of  the  heathen.  This  kind 
of  men  therefore  are  reckoned  among  strangers  to 
the  gospel.  Others  of  these  began  to  be  doubtful  in 
their  minds ;  despairing,  by  reason  of  their  wicked  do- 
ings, ever  to  attain  unto  salvation.  Others,  being  thus 
made  doubtful,  did  moreover  stir  up  dissensions.  To 
these  therefore,  and  to  those  who,  by  reason  of  their 
doings,  are  become  doubtful,  there  is  still  hope  of  re- 
turn ;  but  they  must  repent  quickly,  that  their  place 
may  be  in  the  tower.  But  they  that  repent  not,  but 
continue  still  in  their  pleasures,  are  nigh  unto  death. 
As  for  those  who  gave  in  their  rods  green,  excepting 
their  tops,  which  only  were  dry,  and  had  clefts,  these 
were  always  good,  and  faithful,  and  upright  before 
Ood :  nevertheless  they  sinned  a  little,  by  reason  of 


464  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE, 

their  empty  pleasures  and  trifling  thoughts,  which 
they  had  within  themselves.  Wherefore  many  of 
them,  when  they  heard  my  words,  repented  forthwith ; 
and  began  to  dwell  in  the  tower.  Nevertheless  some 
grew  doubtful,  and  others  to  their  doubtful  minds  ad- 
ded dissensions.  To  these  therefore  there  is  still  hope 
of  return,  because  they  were  always  good ;  but  they 
shall  hardly  be  moved.  As  for  those,  lastly,  who  gave 
in  their  rods  dry,  their  tops  only  excepted,  which  alone 
were  green ;  they  are  such  as  have  believed  indeed  in 
God,  but  have  lived  in  wickedness ;  yet  without  de- 
parting from  God ;  having  always  willingly  borne  the 
name  of  the  Lord ;  and  readily  received  into  their 
houses  the  servants  of  God.  Wherefore  hearing  these 
things,  they  returned,  and  without  delay  repented,  and 
lived  in  all  righteousness.  And  some  of  them  suffered 
death;  others  readily  underwent  many  trials,  being 
mindful  of  their  evil  doings.  And  when  he  had  ended 
his  explications  of  all  the  rods,  he  said  unto  me.  Go, 
and  say  unto  all  men  that  they  repent,  and  they  shall 
live  unto  God :  because  the  Lord,  being  moved  with 
great  clemency,  hath  sent  me  to  preach  repentance 
unto  all ;  even  unto  those  who,  by  reason  of  their  evil 
doings,  deserve  not  to  attain  unto  salvation.  But  the 
Lord  will  be  patient,  and  keep  the  invitation  that  was 
made  by  his  Son.  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  I  hope  that 
all  when  they  shall  hear  these  things  will  repent.  For 
I  trust  that  every  one  acknowledging  his  crime,  and 
taking  up  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  will  return  unto  repent- 
ance. He  said  unto  me.  Whosoever  shall  repent  with 
all  their  hearts,  and  cleanse  themselves  from  all  the 
evils  that  I  have  before  mentioned,  and  not  add  any 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  465 

tiling  more  to  their  sins,  sha'.l  receive  from  the  Lord 
the  cure  of  their  former  iniquities,  if  they  shall  not 
make  any  doubt  of  these  commands,  and  shall  live 
unto  God.  But  they  that  shall  continue  to  add  to 
their  transgressions,  and  shall  still  converse  with  the 
lusts  of  this  present  world,  shall  condemn  themselves 
unto  death.  But  do  thou  walk  in  these  commands, 
and  thou  shalt  live  unto  God  ;  and  whosoever  shall 
walk  in  these,  and  exercise  them  rightly,  shall  live 
unto  God.  And  having  showed  me  all  these  things, 
he  said,  I  will  show  thee  the  rest  in  a  few  days." 

The  opinions  of  the  ancients  in  regard  to  Hermas 
were  not  settled.  Origen  on  Rom.  xvi.  14,  says,  "  I 
suppose  that  this  Hernias  is  the  author  of  the  little 
book  called  the  Shepherd  (Pastor),  a  writing  (scrip- 
ture) which  seems  to  me  highly  useful,  and  it  is,  as  I 
suppose,  divinely  inspired  "  ;  and  yet  in  his  homily  on 
Luke  xii.  58,  he  expresses  himself  more  doubtfully. 
The  author  of  the  Fragment  of  Muratori  expresses 
himself  more  decidedly  as  to  the  author  of  the  Shep- 
herd. He  says,  "  Hermas  composed  t;he  Shepherd 
very  lately,  in  our  times,  in  the  city  of  Rome,  while 
the  bishop  Pius,  his  brother,  occupied  the  chair  of  the 
Roman  church." 

Jerome  (Catal.  c.  10)  writes,  "  Hermas,  whom 
the  apostle  Paul  mentions  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans (xvi.  14)  they  assert  to  be  the  author  of 
the  book  which  is  called  Pastor,  and  which  is  even 
now  publicly  read  in  some  of  the  churches  of  Greece. 
It  is  truly  a  useful  book,  and  many  of  the  ancient  wri- 
ters have  taken  testimonies  from  it,  but  it  is  almost 
unknown  among  the  Latins ;  "  and  yet  in  another  pas- 
30 


466  THE     LOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

sage  of  the  same  work  (c.  20)  lie  seems  to  reject  it 
altogether. 

Tertullian,  iu  the  latter  part  of  his  life  at  least,  de- 
cidedly rejected  it;  and  affirms  that  it  was  classed  by 
every  council  of  the  churches  among  the  false  and 
apocryphal  books  (De  Pudic.  c.  10  and  20)  ;  and  the 
Muratorian  Fragment  says,  ''  It  should  be  read,  indeed, 
but  it  can  never  be  publicly  read  in  the  church,  either 
among  the  prophets  or  the  apostles." 

The  conclusions  of  Eusebius  are  given  very  dis- 
tinctly, E,  H.  iii.  3,  and  are  as  follows. 

"But  as  the  same  apostle  in  the  addresses  at  the 
close  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  has  among  others 
made  mention  also  of  Hermas,  of  whom  they  say  we 
have  the  book  called  Pastor,  it  should  be  observed, 
that  this  too  is  disputed  by  some  on  account  of  whom 
it  is  not  placed  among  those  of  acknowledged  authority 
(^^onoloyovi^iEvoi^,  By  others,  however,  it  is  judged  most 
necessary,  especially  to  those  who  need  an  elementary 
introduction.  Hence  we  know  that  it  has  been  already 
in  public  use«in  our  churches,  and  I  have  also  under- 
stood by  tradition,  that  some  of  the  most  ancient  wri- 
ters have  made  use  of  it." 

The  passage  in  Irenaeus  respecting  Hermas  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Well  has  the  Scripture  spoken  which  says.  First 
of  all  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  who  created  all 
things  and  ordered  all  things  and  made  all  things  from 
that  which  is  not."  The  quotation  is  from  Hermas, 
Command  i.  1,  and  with  reference  to  this  passage  Euse- 
bius (II.  E.  V.  8)  says  in  regard  to  Irenaeus,  "And  he 
not  only  knew  but  also  admitted  the  book  called  Pas- 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     EPISTLES.  467 

tor,  in  these  words,  '  Well  is  it  said  in  that  work  which 
declares.  First  of  all  believe  that  there  is  one  God, 
who  created  and  arranged  all  things,'  "  etc.,  or  transla- 
ting Eusebius  with  literal  exactness,  "Not  only  did  he 
know,  but  he  also  receives  the  writing  (Scripture, 
j'?«qpv)  of  the  Shepherd,  saying.  Wherefore  well  spake 
the  Scripture  (writing,  y?«97)  which  says,"  etc.  The 
word  Scripture  (rQoi<f>^)  was  probably  then  used  with 
rather  more  latitude  than  it  is  now. 

There  is  certainly  no  evidence  that  any  of  the  apos- 
tles ever  sanctioned  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias  as  of 
divine  authority,  or  even  knew  of  the  existence  of 
the  book. 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

THE  REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN  AND  THE  APOCRYPHAL  REV- 
ELATIONS. 

REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN,  OR  THE  APOCALYPSE. — INTRO- 
DUCTORY REMARKS. 

The  official  activity  of  Jolin  extended  tlirough  a 
much  longer  period  than  that  of  any  other  of  the 
primitive  teachers  of  Christianity;  for  he  was  the 
youngest  of  the  apostles,  and  reached  a  far  more  ad- 
vanced age  than  any  of  his  associates. 

On  account  of  his  known  character  as  the  personal 
favorite  and  bosom  friend  of  his  divine  Master,  the 
celebrity  of  his  "writings,  the  extent  of  his  travels 
through  Christendom,  the  great  age  to  which  he  lived, 
his  being  looked  upon  by  all  the  churches  for  a  long 
period  as  the  only  man  living  who  had  seen  and  famil- 
liarly  conversed  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  on  account 
of  the  number  of  young  men  who  were  prepared  for 
the  Christian  ministry  under  his  instruction — on  these 
accounts,  John  was  more  extensively  known,  and  more 
highly  venerated  among  the  Christian  churches  of  the 
first  and  second  century,  than  any  other  apostle,  unless 
Paul  should  be  regarded  as  an  exception. 

If  then,  the  Apocalypse  is  falsely  ascribed  to  John, 
we  should  naturally  suppose  that  it  would  not  have 


470  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

been  ascribed  to  him  at  a  very  early  period ;  that  very 
few,  if  any,  of  the  writers  who  lived  at  and  near  his 
time,  would  be  likely  to  fall  into  the  mistake ;  and  that 
in  a  later  age,  the  book  would  gradually,  and  in  the 
face  of  opposition  from  the  better  informed,  work  its 
way  into  public  confidence,  as  a  genuine  production 
of  the  beloved  disciple. 

But  the  historical  facts  in  the  case  are  directly  the 
reverse  of  all  these  reasonable  expectations,  which 
every  one  will  see  to  be  exactly  in  the  natural  course 
of  events,  on  the  supposition  that  the  book  is  spurious. 
The  testimony  of  the  early  and  contemporary  wit- 
nesses is  unanimous  and  uncontradicted  in  favor  of  the 
book.  Though  well  known'  and  extensively  used  in 
the  churches,  not  a  breath  of  suspicion  was  ever  blown 
upon  its  reputation,  until  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  after  the  death  of  the  apostle  to  whom  it  is 
ascribed-  and  then  not  confidently,  but  doubtingly, 
not  on  any  critical  grounds  alleged  or  pretended,  but 
solely  on  account  of  the  supposed  difficulty  of  its  in- 
terpretation, the  bad  use  which  had  been  made  of  it, 
and  a  dislike  to  the  doctrines  which  it  was  imagined 
to  contain. 

THE    MILLENNIAL    CONTROVERSY. 

The  occasion  on  which  the  genuineness  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse was  first  called  in  question,  was  the  following. 
About  A.  D.  230,  Nepos,  the  pious  and  active  bishop 
of  Arsinoe,  in  Egypt,  adopted  the  notion  of  the  thou- 
sand years  personal  reign  of  Christ  on  earth,  familiarly 
called  the  millennium,  and  published  a  book  entitled, 
"Refutation  of  the  Allegorists,"  in  which  he  amplifies 


,|i  niim    iii}*lMiiiPiVi|i  ^'" 


'  :v'///  \    \\\ 


mm 


'Ti'' 


\ '"  '> 


THE    REVELATION    OF    ST.    JOHN.  471 

this  doctrine,  advocating  it  with  great  zeal,  and  main- 
taining it  principally  by  quotations  from  the  Apoc- 
alypse. The  book  was  very  popular,  and  gained  many 
adherents  to  the  doctrine,  and  so  high  did  their  zeal 
run,  that  the  chiliasts  (as  they  were  called)  or  the  mil- 
lennialists,  began  to  secede  from  the  mother  church  at 
Alexandria,  which  opposed  their  notions.  After  the 
death  of  Nepos,  Coracion,  the  pastor  of  a  country 
church,  took  the  lead  in  propagating  the  same  senti- 
ments. Dionysius,  the  mild  and  learned  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  desiring  to  put  an  end  to  this  dispute,  and 
unwilling  to  fulminate  ecclesiastical  thunders,  which  he 
knew  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  irritate,  with- 
out intimidating  or  subduing,  went  into  the  province 
of  Arsinoe,  where  the  seceders  were  most  numerous, 
and  proposed  an  amicable  conference.  They  met  him 
with  their  leader,  Coracion,  at  their  head,  and  the  book 
of  Nepos  was  carefully  read,  and  its  arguments  ex- 
amined. The  good  bishop  Dionysius,  with  exemplary 
patience,  spent  three  days  in  reasoning  with  his  wan- 
dering sheep,  quietly  listened  to  every  thing  they  had 
to  say,  answered  all  their  objections;  and  by  the  mild- 
ness of  his  bearing,  and  the  force  of  his  arguments,  so 
completely  satisfied  them  that  they  had  been  in  the 
wrong,  that  Coracion,  in  the  name  of  all  the  rest, 
thanked  him  for  his  kindness  and  his  instructions,  and 
declared  that  they  were  all  convinced  that  he  was  in 
the  right,  and  accordingly  they  cheerfully  renounced 
their  own  opinions,  and  adopted  his.  A  rare  result  of 
theological  controversy !  (Neander's  Church  History, 
Part  i.  p.  1094  ff.  in  German.) 


472  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE 


THE    APOCALYPSE    THEN    FIRST    QUESTIONED. 

This  took  place  A.  D.  255,  and  Dionysius,  to  secure 
the  victory  which  he  had  gained,  wrote  a  work  on  the 
Promises.  Notwithstanding  his  wonderful  success,  the 
affair  had  given  Dionysius  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  the 
whole  of  which  he  was  disposed  to  attribute  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Apocalypse,  and  began  to  doubt  Avheth- 
er  a  book  which  he  supposed  had  done  so  much  mis- 
chief, could  be  of  divine  authority,  or  at  any  rate  the 
production  of  an  apostle.  Accordingly,  in  his  work 
on  the  Promises,  he  expresses  himself  to  the  following 
effect,  namely,  "that  some  before  his  time  had  reject- 
ed the  book,  alleging  that  it  was  altogether  dark,  en- 
tirely without  sense  and  reason,  and  ascribed  it  to  the 
heretic  Cerinthus ;  that  he,  however,  would  not,  him- 
self, presume  to  reject  it,  as  many  of  his  christian 
brethren  held  it  in  high  estimation.  He  acknowledged 
that  he  could  not  understand  the  book,  yet  would  not, 
on  that  account,  reject  it,  but  Avould  allow  that  it  was 
written  by  a  man  named  John,  who  was  a  holy  and  in- 
spired man.'^  "But  I  would  not,  (says  he)  easily  agree 
that  this  was  the  apostle,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and 
brother  of  James,  who  is  the  author  of  the  gospel  and 
general  epistles  which  bear  his  name.  But  I  conjec- 
ture from  the  general  tenor  of  both,  and  the  form  and 
complexion  of  the  composition,  and  the  execution  of 
the  whole  book,  that  it  is  not  from  him.'"  "That  it  is 
a  John  that  wrote  these  things,  Ave  must  believe  him, 
as  he  says  it;  but  what  John  it  is,  is  uncertain."  "I 
am  of  opinion,  that  there  were  many  of  the  same  r,;ane 
witli  John  the  apostle,  who,  for  their  love  and  admira- 


THE    REVELATION     OF    ST.    JOHN.  473 

tion  of  him,  adopted  the  same  epithet."  "They  say 
that  there  are  two  monuments  at  Ephesus,  and  that 
each  bears  the  name  of  John ;  and  from  the  sentiments 
and  expressions  (of  the  two  works  in  question,  the 
Gospel  and  Apocalypse)  as  also  from  their  composition, 
it  might  be  very  reasonably  conjectured  that  this  one 
is  different  from  that" — and  thus  he  continues throuorh 
several  paragraphs — saying  nothing  directly — denying 
nothing  positively,  but  exhibiting  great  doubt  and 
perplexity.   (Eusebius,  Eccl.  Hist.  Book  vii.  25). 

This  was  the  first  open  attack  ever  made  on  the 
genuineness  of  the  Apocalypse ;  and  it  is  plain  from 
the  above  extracts,  that  Dionysius  could  sustain  him- 
self by  no  respectable  authority,  otherwise  he  would 
have  produced  it;  and  the  "some  before  himself"  to 
whom  he  alludes  so  generally,  were  probably  those 
who  had  been  engaged  in  the  same  controversy  with 
Nepos,  and  whose  minds  had  received  a  bias  similar  to 
his  own.  It  is  also  plain,  that  he  had  no  historical 
ground  for  his  conjectures  and  suggestions,  but  that 
the  testimony  was  all  against  him  ;  that  he  was  not  him- 
self at  all  confident  in  his  own  opinion ;  and  that  his 
wish  to  get  rid  of  the  authority  of  this  book,  arose 
entirely  from  his  apprehension  of  its  obscurity,  and  its 
influence  on  the  millennial  controversy.  This  contro- 
versy continued  to  prevail  through  several  centuries, 
particularly  in  Asia ;  and  wherever  it  prevailed,  the 
anti-millennialists  felt  the  same  anxiety  to  rid  them- 
selves of  the  authority  of  the  Apocalypse.  This  kept 
up  the  controversy  in  regard  to  the  book ;  and  all  who 
have  rejected  the  book,  have  been  induced  to  reject 
it,  not  on  historical  testimony  against  it,  or  the  want 


474  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

of  such  testimony  in  its  favor,  but  simply  on  doctrinal 
grounds. 

TESTEVIONIES    TO    THE    REVELATION    OF    JOHN. 

We  introduce  these  testimonies  by  a  striking  pas- 
sage from  Irenaeus.  Irenaeus  here  seems  to  say  that 
the  Revelation  was  seen  in  the  reign  of  Domitian ;  but 
this  is  by  no  means  certain,  as  the  reader  will  see  by 
turning  back  to  the  remarks  on  page  187  of  this  vol- 
ume. 

The  ancients  were  by  no  means  agreed  as  to  the 
time  when  John  saw  the  Apocalypse.  It  was  fixed  to 
the  reign  of  Nero,,  certainly  by  Theophylact,  Hippol- 
ytus,  Arethas,  and  the  Syrian  translator,  and  probably 
also  by  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Tertullian.  Epi- 
phanius  puts  it  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  the  predeces- 
sor of  Nero ;  while  Eusebius,  Jerome  and  Yictorinus 
decide  for  Domitian.  Nero  Claudius  Domitius  or  Dom- 
itianus  was  the  full  name  of  the  persecuting  emperor ; 
and  hence  we  see  how  it  happened  that  by  different 
ancient  writers  both  Claudius  and  Domitian  were  put 
in  the  place  of  Nero.  Some  of  the  ablest  modern 
commentators,  as  Stuart,  Guericke  and  others,  decide 
for  the  time  of  Nero.  Compare,  however,  Alford's 
Greek  Testament,  Vol.  iv.  p.  230-36. 

Eusebius  (E.  IT.  v.  8.)  gives  the  passage  of  Irenaeus, 
(Ilaer.  v.  30)  aild  as  here  we  happily  have  the  work 
of  Irenaeus  himself  still  extant,  we  know  that  the 
quotation  by  Eusebius  is  faithful  and  correct,  and  we 
have  no  reason  for  a  contrary  supposition  in  regard  to 
any  of  the  passages  from  ancient  authors,  quoted  by 
Eusebius. 


THE    REVELATION     OF    ST.    JOHN.  475 

"Since  we  have  promised  in  the  outset  of  our  work 
to  give  extracts  occasionally  when  we  refer  to  the  dec- 
larations of  the  ancient  presbyters  and  historians  of 
the  church,  in  which  they  have  transmitted  the  tradi- 
tions that  have  descended  to  us  respecting  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  among  these  Irenaeus  was  one.  This  is 
what  this  author  says  in  the  third  book  of  the  work 
already  mentioned ;  and  in  the  fifth,  he  thus  descants 
on  the  Revelation"  of  John  and  the  calculation  of  anti- 
christ's name:  "As  matters  are  thus,  and  the  number 
is  thus  found  in  all  the  genuine  and  ancient  copies, 
and  as  they  who  saw  John  attest,  reason  itself  shows 
that  the  number  of  the  name  of  the  beast  is  indicated 
by  the  Greek  letters  which  it  contains."  And  a  little 
further  on  he  speaks  of  the  same  John:  "We,  there- 
fore," says  he,  "do  not  venture  to  affirm  any  thing 
with  certainty  respecting  the  name  of  antichrist.  For 
were  it  necessary  that  his  name  should  be  clearly  an- 
nounced to  the  present  age,  it  would  have  been  de- 
clared by  him  who  saw  the  revelation.  For  it  has  not 
been  long  since  it  was  seen,  but  almost  in  our  own 
generation,  about  the  end  of  Domitian's  reign."  (tj?? 
jouETiavov  uq-/iji.  ^  These  are  what  he  states  respecting 
the  Revelation.  Irenaeus  had  been  well  acquainted 
with  these  men  who  had  seen  John,  for  they  were  his 
own  teachers.  No  contrary  contemporary  testimo: 
can  be  adduced.  Could  the  Apocalypse  have  been  so 
soon  forged,  so  soon  ascribed  to  John,  so  soon  have 
gained  general  credence,  while  John  was  yet  living, 
and  among  his  personal  friends  ?  How  could  Polycarp 
and  Papias  have  consulted  John  as  to  the  reading  of  a 
passage  in  a  work  which  he  never  wrote,   and  which 


476  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

was  falsely  ascribed  to  him,  without  detecting  its  spu- 
riousness  ? 

Hermas.  The  Shepherd  of  Hermas  was  probably 
written  very  soon  after  the  Revelation  of  John,  and 
being  a  work  of  the  same  kind,  contains  frequent  allu- 
sions to  it.  The  most  obvious  difference  between  the 
two  books,  which  must  at  once  strike  the  mind  of 
every  careful  reader  is,  that  John,  of  the  Revelation, 
is  a  good  Christian  of  the  apostolic  age,  writing  under 
the  immediate  influence  of  divine  inspiration,  while 
Hermas,  of  the  Shepherd,  is  a  good  Christian  of  the 
same  age,  or  of  the  age  immediately  following,  writing 
without  any  such  special  divine  influence.  Compare 
Hermas'  Vision   iil,  with  Rev.  xxi.  14,  iii.  12. 

Papias  and  others.  "  Concerning  the  divine  inspi- 
ration of  the  Apocalypse  it  is  not  necessary  to  multi- 
ply words,  blessed  men  testifying  that  it  is  worthy  of 
belief  Gregory  the  Theologian,  Cyrill,  and  still  ear- 
lier Papias,  Irenaeus,  Hippolytus  and  Methodius." 
Andreas,  Proleg,  in  Apoc.  p.  175. 

Justin  Mart i/7\  "And  a  certain  man  of  us  whose 
name  was  John,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  Christ, 
in  that  revelation  of  Christ  which  was  exhibited  to 
him,  foretold  that  the  faithful  would  live  a  thousand 
years  in  Jerusalem,  and  after  that  a  universal  resurrec- 
tion of  all  men  and  the  final  judgment."     Rev.  xx. 

"John  wrote  the  Apocalypse  which  Justin  Martyr 
and  Irenaeus  interpreted."     Jerome,  de  Vir.  ill.  c.  9. 

"He,  (Justin  Martyr, )writes  also,  that  even  down  to 
his  time,  gifts  of  prophecy  shone  forth  in  the  church ; 
mentions  also,  the  Revelation  of  John,  plainly  calling 


THE    REVELATION     OF    ST.    JOHN.  477 

it  the  work  of  the  apostle,  and  records  also  certain 
prophetic  declarations,  in  his  discussion  with  Trjphon." 
Euseb.  K  H.  iv.  18. 

Meltto.  "He  wrote  two  books  concerning  the  pass- 
over and   concerning    the  Revelation   of    John.'' 

Euseb.  E.  H.  iv.  26. 

"Melito  wrote  concerning  the  Devil  one  book,  and 
concerning  the  Revelation  of  John."  Jerome  de  Vir. 
m.  c.  29. 

ApolloniiLS.  "He  quotes,  also,  the  Revelation  of 
John  as  testimony ;  and  relates,  also,  that  a  dead  mau 
was  raised  by  the  divine  power,  through  the  same 
John,  at  Ephesus."     Euseb.  E.  H.  v.  18. 

Clvurclies  of  Yienne  and  Lijons.  "For  he  was  also 
a  real  disciple  of  Christ,  and  followed  the  Lamb  whith- 
ersoever he  went."  Rev.  xiv.  4.  "  Not  abashed  when 
overcome  by  the  martyrs,  but  evidently  destitute  of 
all  reason,  the  madness  both  of  the  governor  and  the 
people,  as  of  some  savage  beast,  blazed  forth  so  much 
the  more,  to  exhibit  the  same  unjust  hostility  against 
us.  That  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled,  'He  that 
is  unjust  let  him  be  unjust  still,  and  he  that  is  right- 
eous let  him  be  righteous  still.'"  Rev.  xxii.  11. 
"But  if  any  one  of  us,  either  by  letter  or  in  conversa- 
tion, called  them  martyrs,  they  seriously  reproved  us. 
For  they  cheerfully  yielded  the  title  of  martyr  to 
Christ,  the  true  and  faithful  martyr,  (witness)  the  first 
begotten  from  the  dead,  the  prince  of  divine  life." 
Rev.  i.  5,  iii.  14. 

Irenaeus.  "But  also  John  the  disciple  of  the  Lord, 
seeing  in  the  Apocalypse  the  sacerdotal  and  glorious 
coming  of  the  kingdom."  Haer.  iv.  20,  Rev.  i.  12-16. 


478  BOOKS  OF    THE    BIBLE. 

"And  yet  moro  manifestly  concerning  the  last  time, 
and  concerning  the  ten  kings  there,  among  whom  the 
empire  which  now  reigns  will  be  divided.  John  the 
disciple  of  the  Lord  signified  in  the  Apocalypse,  dis- 
tinguishing what  the  ten  horns  would  be  which  were 
seen  by  Daniel,  saying  thus  it  was  told  to  me."  Haer. 
V.  26.     Compare  also  Eusebius,  E.  H.  v.  3. 

Athenagoras.  "And  the  earth  shall  give  up  the 
dead  which  she  hath  received."  Legat.  p.  39,  Rev. 
XX.  13. 

Tlieopliilus.  "And  there  is  extant  another  book  of 
Theophilus  against  the  heresy  of  Hermogenes,  in 
which  he  uses  the  testimonies  taken  from  the  Revela- 
tion of  John."     Euseb.  E.  H.  iv.  24. 

"This  Eve  was  the  head  and  beginning  of  sin,  as 
she  was  seduced  by  a  serpent,  through  whom  the  ma- 
lignant Devil  spoke,  who  is  called  the  Devil  and  Satan, 
and  to  this  day  operates  in  those  who  act  in  his  spirit, 
and  he  does  not  cease  to  be  called  the  Devil.  He  is 
also  called  Daemon  and  Dragon."  Ad  Autol.  ii.  Rev. 
xii.  3-9. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  "And  though  he  may  not 
be  honored  with  the  first  seat  on  earth,  he  will  be  en- 
throned on  the  four  and  twenty  thrones  judging  the 
people,  as  John  says  in  the  Apocalypse."  Strom,  vi.  p. 
G67;  Rev.  iv.  4,  11,  16. 

"And  we  understand  that  the  Jerusalem  from  above 
wijl  be  constructed  of  several  stones ;  and  we  admit 
that  twelve  gates  of  the  heavenly  city,  assimilated  to 
precious  stones,  signify  the  distinguished  grace  of  the 
apostolic  voice."     Ibid.  ii.  p.  207,  Rev.  xxi.  21. 

Tertullian.      "John  in  the  Apocalypse  commands 


THE    REVELATION    OF    ST.    JOHN.  479 

that  those  who  eat  things  offered  to  idols  and  commit 
fornication  should  be  cast  out.''  De  Praesc.  c.  33,  Rev. 
ii.  20. 

"For  also  the  apostle  John  in  the  Apocalypse  de- 
scribes a  sword  coming  out  of  the  mouth  of  God,  two- 
edged,  very  sharp,  which  should  be  understood  of  tho 
Divine  Word,  two-edged  with  the  two  Testaments  of 
the  Law  and  the  Gospel."     Adv.  Marc.  iii.  14. 

"We  also  have  the  churches  brought  up  by  John  ; 
for  although  Marcion  rejects  his  Apocalypse,  yet  the 
order  of  bishops  traced  to  the  origin  will  stand  to 
John  as  the  author."     Ibid.  iv.  5. 

Gains.  Eusebius,  E.  H.  iii.  28.  About  the  same 
time,  we  have  understood,  appeared  Cerinthus,  the 
leader  of  another  heresy.  Caius,  whose  words  we 
quoted  above,  in  "The  Disputation"  attributed  to  him, 
writes  thus  respecting  him:  "But  Cerinthus,  by 
means  of  revelations  which  he  pretended  were  written 
by  a  great  apostle,  also  falsely  pretended  to  wonder- 
ful things,  as  if  they  were  showed  him  by  angels,  as- 
serting, that  after  the  resurrection  there  would  be  an 
earthly  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  that  the  flesh,  i.  e.  men, 
again  inhabiting  Jerusalem,  would  be  subject  to  de- 
sires and  pleasures.  Being  also  an  enemy  to  the  divine 
Scriptures,  with  a  view  to  deceive  men,  he  said  that 
there  would  be  a  space  of  a  thousand  years  for  cele- 
brating nuptial  festivals."  Dionysius  also,  who  ob- 
tained the  episcopate  of  Alexandria  in  our  day,  in  the 
second  book  "  On  Promises,"  where  he  says  some  things 
as  if  received  by  ancient  tradition,  makes  mention  of 
the  same  man,  in  these  words:  "But  it  is  highly 
probable  that  Cerinthus,  the  same  that  established  the 


480  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

heresy  that  bears  his  name,  designedly  affixed  the  name 
(of  John)  to  his  own  forgery.  For  one  of  the  doc- 
trines that  he  taught  was,  that  Christ  would  have  an 
earthly  kingdom.  And  as  he  was  a  voluptuary,  and 
altogether  sensual,  he  conjectured  that  it  would  con- 
sist in  those  things  that  he  craved  in  the  gratification 
of  appetite  and  lust ;  i  e.  in  eating,  drinking,  and  mar- 
rying, or  in  such  things  whereby  he  supposed  these 
sensual  pleasures  might  be  presented  in  more  decent 
expressions;  viz.  in  festivals,  sacrifices,  and  the  slay- 
ing of  victims."  John  the  apostle  once  entered  a  bath 
to  wash;  but  ascertaining  Cerinthus  was  within,  he 
leaped  out  of  the  place,  and  fled  from  the  door,  not 
enduring  to  enter  under  the  same  roof  with  him,  and 
exhorted  those  with  him  to  do  the  same,  saying,  "let 
u  flee,  lest  the  bath  fall  in,  as  long  as  Cerinthus,  that 
enemy  of  the  truth,  is  within." 

The  above  from  Eusebius  respecting  Caius  of  Rome 
and  Dionysius,  I  have  inserted  to  indicate  the  reason 
why  the  authority  of  the  Apocalypse  was  ever  ques- 
tioned in  the  ancient  church,  not  because  there  was 
any  evidence  against  it,  or  any  lack  of  evidence  in  its 
favor,  but  simply  because  certain  mischievous  heretics 
had  made  a  bad  use  of  it. 

Origen.  "And  John  the  son  of  Zebedee  says  in 
the  Apocalypse,  And  I  saw  an  angel  flying  through 
the  midst  of  heaven  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to 
preach  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth."  Comment, 
in  Joan.  i.  Rev.  xiv.  G,  7. 

John  himself  bears  witness  in  the  Apocalypse  in 
these  words  :  "I  John,  who  also  am  your  brother,  and 


THE    REVELATION     OF    ST.    JOHN.  481 

companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the  kingdom  'iind  pa- 
tience of  Jesus  Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that  is  called 
Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  it  appears  that  he  saw  the  Apoc- 
alypse in  the  island."  Comment,  in  Matth.  xvi.  Rev. 
i.  9.  And  therefore  John  rightly  an  apostle  and  evan- 
gelist, and  now  on  account  of  the  Apocalypse  a  pro- 
phet, described  the  Word  of  God  in  the  Apocalypse. 
Comment,  in  Joan. 

Hippolytus.  "And  also  concerning  the  gospel  and 
Apocalypse  according  to  John."    Canon  pasch. 

"  Saint  Hippolytus,  the  martyr  bishop,  composed  a 

book  concerning  dispensation and  also  an  apology 

for  the  Apocalypse  and  Gospel  of  John  the  apostle 
and  evangelist."  Ebed  Jesu.  Catal.  v.  6.  Syr,  Lardner 
iii.  99. 

"Hippolytus  wrote  some  commentaries  on  the  Scrip- 
tures, of  which  I  have  found  these,  in  Hexaemeron 
-de  Apocalypse,  etc."     Jerome  de  Yir.  ill.  c.  61. 

"For  he,  being  in  the  island  of  Patmos,  sees  the 
Apocalypse,  in  which  awful  mysteries  are  unfolded, 
and  explaining  them  he  teaches  others.  Tell  me  now 
I  pray  thee,  0  blessed  John,  apostle  and  disciple  of 
the  Lord,  what  thou  didst  hear  and  see  concerning 

Babylon and  one  of  the  seven  angels  came  who 

had  the  seven  phials,"  etc.  De  Christo  et  Anti- 
christo,  36. 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria.  Eusebius  (E.  H.  vii.  24, 
25)  makes  a  very  prolix  statement  of  the  opinions  of 
Dionysius  respecting  the  Apocalypse,  but  it  is  too  long 
to  be  inserted  here. 

By  the  following  statement  of  Eusebius  respecting 
31 


482  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Dionysius,  it  is  evident  that  he  did  at  first  receive  the 
Apocalypse  as  a  genuine  work  of  the  apostle  John, 
like  all  the  other  pastors  till  his  time.   (E.  H.  vii.  10). 

"Gallus  had  not  held  the  government  quite  two 
years  when  he  was  removed,  and  Valerian,  with  his 
son  Gallienus,  succeeded  in  his  place.  What  Dionysius 
has  also  said  respecting  him,  may  be  learned  from  his 
epistle  to  Hermammon,  in  which  he  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  :  '  In  like  manner  it  was  revealed  to  John, 
and  there  was,'  says  he,  'a  mouth  given  him,  speaking 
great  things,  and  blasphemy.  And  there  was  given 
him  power,  and  forty-two  months,  but  it  is  wonderful 
that  both  took  place  in  Valerian,  and  especially  when 
we  consider  the  condition  of  the  man  before  this,  how 
kind  and  friendly  he  was  towards  the  pious."  (Rev. 
xiii.  5). 

Oyprian.  De  Bon.  Pat.  "God  the  Father  com- 
manded that  his  Son  should  be  worshipped  ,  but  in 
the  Revelation  an  angel  rebuked  John  wishing  to  wor- 
ship him,  and  said.  See  thou  do  it  not,  for  I  am  thy 
fellow  servant  and  of  thy  brethren ;  worship  Jesus  the 
Lord."     Rev.  xix.  10. 

De  Eleemos.  "Hear  the  voice  "of  the  Lord  in  the 
Revelation,  reproving  men  of  this  sort  with  just  re- 
bukes."    Rev.  iii.  17,  18. 

Epist.  63.  "For  the  -Sacred  Scripture  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse declares  that  ivaters  signifies  i^^oplesV  Rev. 
xvii.  15. 

Methodius.  Conviv.  p.  70.  "But  John  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse, being  inspired  by  Christ,  teaches  us  that  the 
word,  which  was  made  flesh,  is  also  chief  Virgin,  and 
chief  Pastor,  and  chief  Prophet."  (He  here  quotes, 
Rev.  xiv.  1-4). 


THE    REVELATION    OF    ST.    JOHN.  483 

Victorimts  of  Pettau.  De  Fabric.  Mund.  "And 
therefore  without  doubt  there  are  twelve  angels  of  the 
day  and  twelve  angels  of  the  night,  according  to  the 
number  of  the  hours.  There  are  the  twenty-four  wit- 
nesses of  the  days  and  the  nights,  who  are  seated  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God  having  golden  crowns  on  their 
heads,  whom  in  the  Apocalypse  of  John  the  apostle 
and  evangelist,  he  calls  elders,  because  indeed  they  are 
elders  both  to  the  other  angels  and  to  men."  Rev. 
iv.  4. 

"The  open  book  is  the  Apocalypse  which  John 
saw."     Lardner  iv.  p.  216. 

"  John  was  in  the  island  of  Patmos There  he 

saw  the  Apocalypse So  afterwards  he  delivered 

this  same  Apocalypse  which  he  had  accepted  from  the 
Lord — that  is.  Thou  must  again  prophecy,"  etc.  Rev. 
X.  xi.  Kirchhofer,  p.  322. 

Victorinus,  bishop  of  Pettau,  was  not  so  well  skilled 
in  Latin  as  in  Greek.  Whence  his  works  are  great  in 
meaning,  but  low  in  the  construction  of  words.  They 
are  these.  Commentaries  on  Genesis — on  the  Apoc- 
alypse of  John — and  many  others."  Jerome,  Catal. 
Vir.  ill.  c.  74. 

"Of  which  book  (the  Apocalypse)  Victorinus,  call- 
ed bishop,  discussed  certain  most  difficult  passages." 
Cassiodor.  Ju.  Div.  c.  5. 

Pamjphilus.  Apol.  pro.  Orig.  "John  says  in  his 
Revelation,  The  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
it,  and  death  and  hell  gave  up  the  dead  which  were 
in  them."     Rev.  xx.  13. 

Lactantius.  Epist.  p.  42.  "His  name  is  known  to 
none  except  to  himself  and  His  Father,  as  John  teach- 
es in  the  Revelation."  (xix.  12). 


484  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Instit  vii.  10.  "But  he  who  contammates  himself 
with  vices  and  crimes  and  is  a  slave  to  voluptuousness, 
he,  being  damned  suffers  eternal  punishment,  which 
the  Divine  Scriptures  called  the  second  death ;  which 
is  also  perpetual  and  full  of  the  most  grievous  torments." 
Eev.  ii.  11,  xxi.  8. 

Eusehius.  Demonst.  Evan.  viii.  p.  386.  "Whence 
he  says,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  hath  prevailed, 
and  he  himself  hath  opened  the  seals  attached  to  the 
book,  as  we  read  in  the  Apocalypse  of  John."  Rev. 
V.  5. 

"In  this  persecution  it  is  handed  down  by  tradition 
that  the  apostle  and  evangelist  John,  who  was  yet 
living,  in  consequence  of  his  testimony  to  the  divine 
word,  was  condemned  to  dwell  in  the  island  of  Patmos. 
Irenaeus  indeed,  in  his  fifth  book  against  the  heretics, 
where  he  speaks  of  the  calculations  formed  on  the 
epithet  of  Antichrist,  in  the  above  mentioned  Reve- 
lation of  John,  speaks  in  the  following  manner  respect- 
ing him."     E.  H.  iii.  18,  Rev.  xiii.  18. 

"About  this  time  also,  for  a  very  short  time,  arose 
the  heresy  of  those  called  Nicolaitans,  of  which  men- 
tion is  made  in  the  Revelation  of  John."  E.  H.  iii.  19, 
Rev.  ii.  6,  etc. 

Athanasius.  "  The  Holy  Scripture  pronounces  that 
the  Son  eternally  co-exists  with  the  Father  when  it 
says.  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word  and  the  Word 
was  with  God  and  the  Word  was  God.  And  in  the 
Apocalypse,  These  things  saith  He  who  is  and  who 
was  and  who  is  to  come."  Cont.  Av.  ii.  Rev.  i.  8. 

Epiphanius^  in  his  great  work  on  the  Haeresies  very 
often  quotes  the  Revelation  ;  and  always  as  Scripture 


THE    REVELATTONS    OF    ST.    JOHN  485 

and  as  the  genuine  work  of  John,  the  apostle  and 
evangelist. 

Hilary.  In  Psalm  i.  Lardner  v.  p.  252.  "But  that 
these  leaves  of  the  tree  are  not  useless,  but  salutary 
to  the  nations,  St.  John  testifies  in  the  Apocalypse." 
Rev.  xxii.  2. 

De  Trinit.  vi.  Matthew  from  a  publican  was  chosen 
to  be  an  apostle ;  and  John  on  account  of  his  famil- 
iarity with  the  Lord  was  worthy  of  the  Revelation  of 
the  heavenly  mysteries. 

Jerome.  In  Psalm  149.  "We  read  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse of  John,  which  is  read  and  received  in  the 
churches;  for  it  is  not  held  among  the  apocryphal 
Scriptures,  but  among  the  Scriptures  of  the  church." 

Adv.  Jovin.  ii.  14.     "  The  apostle  who  wrote  the 

book  of  the  Gospel is  a  prophet,  for  he  saw  in 

the  island  of  Patmos the  Apocalypse,  containing 

infinite  mysteries  of  the  future." 

In  Isaiam.  Proe.  Kirchhofer,  p.  328.  "In  which 
way  also,  that  is  spiritually,  the  Apocalypse  of  John  is 
to  be  understood.' 

Augustin.  Passim.  "John  the  apostle  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse." "The  same  John  the  evangelist  in  that  book 
which  is  called  the  Apocalypse."  "  In  the  Apocalypse 
of  John  himself,  whose  is  this  Gospel,"  etc.,  etc. 

OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    APOCALYPSE. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  objections  to 
its  authenticity,  which  some  regard  of  sufficient  weight 
to  counterbalance  the  whole  force  of  this  concurrent 
and  uncontradicted  tesftmony  of  the  ancients. 

1.  It  was  conjectured  by  Dionysius,  as  you  have 


486  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

already  seen,  that  the  Apocalypse  was  vv'ritten,  not  by 
John  the  apostle,  but  by  a  certain  presbyter  named 
John,  who  lived  at  Ephesus  about  the  same  time. 

To  this,  we  reply,  1st.  It  is  directly  contrary  to  all 
contemporary  and  early  testimony.  The  writers  of  the 
first  age  knew  of  no  such  presbyter  John,  but  ascribe 
the  Apocalypse  to  John  the  apostle.  2d.  The  very 
existence  of  any  such  John  the  presbyter,  as  a  differ- 
ent person  from  John  the  apostle,  is  very  problemati- 
cal. He  makes  no  figure  in  ecclesiastical  history,  and 
we  are  strongly  tempted  to  believe,  that  his  existence 
is  a  mere  conjecture  of  those  who  wished  to  get  rid 
of  the  apostolic  authority  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  apostle  John  styles  himself  the  elder  or  presby- 
ter in  the  first  verse  of  his  second  and  third  epistles, 
and  this  might  first  have  given  rise  to  the  story  of  two 
Johns  at  Ephesus.  Eusebius  infers  and  stoutly  argues 
in  favor  of  a  presbyter  John,  distinct  from  the  apostle, 
from  the  fact  that  the  name  of  John  twice  occurs  in 
the  following  passage  of  Papias,  in  which  he  says  that 
he  made  it  a  point  to  inquire  "what  was  said  by 
Thomas,  James,  John,  Matthew,  or  any  other  of  the 
disciples  of  our  Lord.  What  was  said  by  Aristion, 
and  the  presbyter  John,  disciple  of  our  Lord  "  (Euseb. 
iii.  39).  Whether  the  presbyter  John  here  mentioned, 
be  the  same  with  John  the  apostle,  or  John  whose  sur- 
name was  Mark  (Acts  xii.  25),  or  some  other  John, 
it  certainly  can  not  prove,  in  direct  opposition  to  all 
testimony,  that  John  the  apostle  did  not  write  the 
Apocalypse. 

2.  Another  objection  of  Dionysius,  and  one  which  has 
been  often  repeated  since,  is,  that  John's  name  is  affix- 


THE     REVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHN,  487 

ed  to  the  Apocalypse,  which  is  not  the  case  with  his 
Gospel  or  first  epistle.  This  is  a  very  singular  argu- 
ment ;  as  much  as  to  say,  if  a  man  publishes  one  work 
anonymously,  and  another  with  his  name  to  it,  we  are 
to  reject  the  one  which  bears  his  name,  because  the 
other  is  anonymous. 

Again :  though  the  apostle  John  does  not  describe 
himself  by  name,  to  be  the  writer  of  the  Gospel,  yet 
he  does  declare  himself  to  be  the  author  in  terms  so 
express,  that  he  well  knew  any  one  would  understand 
them  (John  xxi.  24  compared  with  verse  20,  and  xiii. 
23-25,  and  xix.  35). 

The  nature  of  the  Apocalypse,  it  being  prophecy  in 
the  most  sublime  style  of  inspiration,  required  a  more 
distinct  enunciation  of  its  author  to  give  it  authority, 
than  the  plain  narrative  of  the  Gospel.  This  is  accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  other  prophecies.  Not  a  book  of 
prophecy  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  is  not 
accompanied  by  the  naine  of  the  writer.  John  while 
prophesying,  of  course,  adopted  the  prophetic  mode 
of  writing. 

3.  The  style  and  language  of  the  Apocalypse  is  very 
different  from  that  of  the  Gospel  and  Epistles.  This  is 
true,  and  the  style  ought  to  be  different ;  for  the  whole 
subject  and  the  whole  mode  of  treating  it  is  entirely 
dxffe]'ent.  Style  varies  with  the  varieties  of  the  sub- 
ject. Is  the  genuineness  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  to 
be  disputed,  because  it  is  not  written  in  the  same  style 
with  his  Doctrine  and  Discipline  of  Divorce  ?  Or  New- 
ton's work  on  Chronology  and  the  Bible,  because  they 
are  not  in  the  style  of  his  Principia  ?  There  is,  !iow- 
ever,  a  striking  resemblance  in  some  particulars,  be- 


488  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

tween  the  style  of  the  Apocalypse  and  that  of  the 
Gospel.  There  is  the  same  depth  and  peculiarity  of 
feeling  in  both. 

4.  It  is  objected  that  the  Greek  of  the  Apocalypse 
is  much  less  pure  and  more  largely  tinctured  with  He- 
brew idioms  than  that  of  the  Gospel  or  Epistles.  This 
is  true,  and  for  the  best  of  reasons.  The  Apocalypse 
was  written  earlier  than  the  Gospel  or  Epistles,  and  be- 
fore the  writer  had  become  so  familiar  with  the  Greek 
language  as  he  was  afterwards.  Again,  almost  every 
sentence  in  the  Apocalypse  is  written  with  particular 
reference  to  some  passage  of  the  Old  Testament  proph- 
ecies, and  of  course  it  takes  a  Hebrew  coloring.  We 
are  led  to  think  that  the  apostle  had  no  book  with  him 
in  his  exile  and  solitude  but  his  Hebrew  Bible ;  that 
this  was  his  constant  meditation,  and  the  whole  train 
of  his  thoughts  was  shaped  and  modified  by  its  lan- 
guage and  imagery. 

5.  It  is  said  that  the  Apocalypse  is  not  included  in 
the  most  ancient  Syrian  translation.  It  is  true,  that 
some  of  the  manuscripts  of  the  Syrian  translation 
which  have  been  brought  to  Europe,  do  not  contain 
this  book.  But  that  the  book  was  well  known  and  ac- 
knowledged as  genuine  in  the  Syrian  churches,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact,  that  in  the  second  century  it  was 
quoted  as  Scripture  by  Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  third  century  its  genuineness 
was  vindicated  against  the  attack  of  Caius  by  Hippo- 
lytus,  who  was  held  in  high  repute  by  the  Syrians ;  and 
in  the  fourth  century  it  is  quoted  as  the  work  of  John, 
by  the  Syrian  saint,  Ephraem.  (Works  of  Ephr.  t.  ii. 
p.  332;  iii.  G16:  and  in  Greek,  ii.  252  ;  iii.  52.) 


THE     REVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHN.  489 

The  Syrian  manuscripts  which  do  not  contain  the 
books,  were  probably  written  after  the  millennial  con- 
troversy had  made  the  Revelation  distasteful  to  a  pow- 
erful party  in  the  church. 

6.  But  the  great,  and  in  fact,  the  only  objection 
against  the  Revelation,  which  has  had  any  real  impor- 
tance, has  always  been  that  which  was  at  first  stated 
by  Dionysius,  namely  that  it  was  very  obscure,  without 
sense  and  reason,  as  Dionysius  says,  exceedingly  difficult 
to  be  interpreted ;  and  the  great  storehouse  from  which 
heretics  and  fanatics  have  drawn  their  materials  to 
trouble  the  church  with.  The  want  of  'sense  and 
reason'  belongs  to  the  interpreters,  and  not  to  the 
book.  Obscurity,  to  a  certain  extent,  is  an  attribute 
of  all  prophecy,  and  heretics  and  fanatics  always  lay 
hold  on  the  most  highly  figurative  language,  because 
this  is  the  most  easily  perverted.  Even  allowing  the 
objection  to  be  just  as  it  is  stated,  it  has  but  little  to 
do  with  the  question  of  aiithorship,  which  is  a  question 
of  fact,  to  be  settled  by  the  appropriate  evidence  ;  and 
no  one  has  ever  shown,  or  done  anything  towards 
showing,  that  there  is  anything  in  the  Revelation  so 
repugnant  to  the  known  character  of  John,  that  he  can 
not  reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  the  author  of  it.  A 
writer  is  not  accountable  for  the  stupidity  of  his  com- 
mentators, nor  for  the  ignorance  or  wilful  abuse, 
which  weak  men  and  bad  men  may  make  of  his  wri- 
tings. I  hope  it  will  be  seen  that  the  darkness,  the 
absurdities,  the  mysticism,  and  fanaticism,  which  have 
been  attributed  to  the  Apocalypse,  no  more  belong  to 
it,  than  dinginess  belongs  to  the  clear  blue  sky,  when 
it  happens  to  be  observed  through  a  dingy  glass. 


49U  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  stating  the  whole  ar- 
gument, in  respect  to  the  genuineness  of  the  Revela- 
tion, on  account  of  the  peculiar  attitude  in  which  it 
stands  before  the  Christian  world,  and  because  of  the 
many  and  various  opinions  respecting  it. 

I  would  here  say  to  my  readers,  take  the  book  of 
Revelation,  and  read  it  once  through  without  reference 
to  anything  which  you  have  ever  heard  said  about  it, 
and  without  attempting  to  apply  its  predictions  to  any 
of  the  events  of  history,  with  which  you  are  familiar. 
Read  it  simply  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  it ;  read  it  as 
a  glowing  description  of  a  series  of  magnificent  pic- 
tures which  were  passing  before  the  eye  of  the  writer ; 
read  it  for  the  sake  of  throwing  your  soul  into  its  sub- 
lime acts  of  adoration  of  the  Great  Supreme ;  read  it 
for  the  sake  of  becoming  imbued  with  its  spirit,  with- 
out troubling  yourselves  as  to  the  historical  applica- 
tion of  its  symbols ;  and  remember,  while  you  read, 
that  it  is  an  Oriental,  an  Asiatic,  and  a  Hebrew  book. 
(On  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  compare  particularly 
the  introductions  of  Michaelis,  Hug,  and  Home,  among 
the  older  writers ;  and  Stuart,  Guericke,  Duesterdieck, 
Alford,  and  Wordsworth  of  the  more  recent  ones.) 

GENERAL  DESIGN  OF  THE  BOOK. 

When  we  enter  on  the  investigation  of  a  much  dis- 
puted subject,  it  is  very  desirable  to  find  some  common 
ground  on  which  all  agree  and  from  which  we  may  take 
our  departure.  Such  a  common  ground  we  have,  even 
in  reference  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse. 

Almost  all  interpreters  agree  substantially  in  this : 
namely,  that  it  is  the  general  object  of  this  book  to  ex- 


THE     REVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHN.  491 

cite  and  encourage  Christians  in  times  of  depression 
and  persecution,  by  disclosing  to  them  the  glories  and 
the  terrors  of  the  invisible  world ;  to  show  the  dread- 
fulness  of  the  punishments  which  await  the  enemies 
of  religion,  and  the  nearness  and  delight  of  the  rewards 
which  await  its  friends ;  and  to  assure  those  who  are 
exposing  themselves  to  suffering  in  the  cause  of  Christ, 
of  the  ultimate  and  complete  triumph  of  this  cause 
over  every  form  of  hostility,  however  malignant  and 
powerful.  This  was  its  original  and  acknowledged 
purpose,  and  this  purpose  it  has  abundantly  answered 
in  every  age  of  the  church,  notwithstanding  the  nu- 
merous abuses  to  which  it  has  been  subjected.  And 
this  is  an  instance  of  the  care  which  God  takes  to  se- 
cure the  original  end,  for  which  his  institutions  are 
designed.  Notwithstanding  all  the  abuses  of  this  book, 
the  church  in  times  of  distress  has  always  used  it,  as 
it  was  designed  to  be  used,  for  comfort  and  encour- 
agement. 

Diversity  of  opinion  has  arisen  in  making  the  appli- 
cation of  its  symbolic  language,  to  particular  events 
of  subsequent  history ;  and  the  diversity  h/is  been  as 
endless  as  the  varieties  of  fancy  and  passion  among 
men ;  and  the  difficulty  and  obscurity  which  envelope 
the  book,  arise  from  its  being  re|d  with  the  idea  that 
each  of  its  symbols  must  be  appropriated  to  some  one 
corresponding  event  of  history ;  and  that  the  book  is 
valuable  only  as  a  collection  of  predictions,  which  have 
had  or  are  to  have,  punctual  and  literal  accomplish- 
ment. 

That  the  book  contains  much  of  prophecy,  there  can 
be  no  doubt ;  but  I  apprehend  that  the  idea  of  proph- 


492  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

ecy  as  applied  to  the  Revelation  is  generally  too  literal 
and  narrow ;  that  the  constant  and  anxious  search  for 
the  fulfillment  of  predictions  has  often  prevented 
readers  from  seeing  that  the  book  contains  much,  of 
the  highest  value  to  the  Christian,  which  is  not  proph- 
ecy. 

It  is  desirable  often  to  read  the  book,  and  leave  the 
prophetic  application  of  its  symbols  entirely  out  of 
view,  and  look  at  the  passages  just  as  they  stand — liv- 
ing pictures  of  eternal  realities,  which  are  invisible  to 
mortal  eyes — and  endeavor,  at  the  same  time,  to  unfold 
their  more  striking  peculiarities,  and  to  trace  their  con- 
nection with  the  prophetic  poetry  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

The  Laws  of  Interpretation,  as  we  say  in  the  Preface, 
are  given  in  the  volume  on  the  Old  Testament.  A  few 
brief  bints  on  the  subject  of  Symbolic  Prophecy  is  all 
that  can  find  place  here. 

A  symbol  is  the  same  as  a  signal.  From  its  own  na- 
ture it  can  express  only  a  general  idea,  never  a  spe- 
cific one.  You  see  a  ship  at  sea  with  the  flag  at  half 
mast.  This  gives  you  the  general  idea  that  there  is 
distress  on  board,  ]Mt  what  the  distress  is,  the  signal 
(or  symbol)  does  not  inform  you.  It  may  be  sickness, 
mutiny,  want  of  provisions  or  water,  a  leak,  or  any  num- 
ber of  different  kinds  of  misfortune,  you  have  no  idea 
which  ;  the  single  idea  which  you  get  is  that  the  people 
are  in  distress  and  want  help.  The  symbol  is  equally  ap- 
propriate to  express  any  of  the  different  sources  of  ca- 
lamity, and  no  more  appropriate  to  express  one  than  the 


THE     REVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHN.  493 

other.  Just  so  in  prophecy.  The  mere  appropriate- 
ness of  a  symbol  is  no  proof  of  its  application  to  a 
specific  event  in  prophecy,  though  inappropriateness 
is  a  decisive  argument  against  its  application. 

The  same  symbols  that  appropriately  represent  the 
calamitous  expedition  of  Xerxes  into  Greece,  would 
also  appropriately  represent  the  calamitous  expedition 
of  Napoleon  into  Russia ;  the  same  symbols  that  would 
appropriately  represent  the  distress  of  the  French 
during  their  revolution,  would  also  be  appropriate 
to  the  Jewish-Roman  war.  To  fix  the  specific  applica- 
tion of  symbols,  you  must  always  have,  besides  the 
appropriateness  of  the  symbols  themselves,  some  local- 
izing fact  or  circumstance  which  confines  the  symbols 
to  one  historical  series  of  appropriate  events  rather 
than  another.  Otherwise  all  disputes  about  the  appli- 
cation of  prophetic  symbols,  is  like  standing  on  shore 
and  disputing  about  the  particular  calamity  on  board 
a  ship  at  sea  with  the  flag  at  half  mast ;  one  affirming 
it  is  cholera,  another  that  it  is  small  pox,  another  that 
it  is  mutiny,  another  that  it  is  want  of  water,  and  none 
of  them  knowing  in  the  least  whereof  they  affirm. 

They  must  hear  directly  from  the  ship  itself  before 
they  can  decide  as  to  the  particular  kind  of  distress 
which  she  is  suffering. 

It  is  the  neglect  of  this  idea  which  is  the  cause  of 
the  interminable  disputes  about  the  historical  applica- 
tion of  prophetic  symbols.  Mere  appropriateness  is 
taken  as  sufficient  ground  for  the  historical  application ; 
but  there  are  very  many  different  historical  events  to 
which  the  symbols  are  all  and  equally  appropriate. 
The  particular  localizing  fact  or  circumstance  must 
always  be  first  ascertained. 


494  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Moreover  a  series  of  Symbolic  Prophecies  is  like  a 
gallery  of  historical  pictures ;  the  pictures  are  hung 
along  upon  the  wall  of  the  room  in  the  order  in  which 
the  events  occurred.  There  is  succession  without 
chronology,  order  without  dates,  proximity  in  place 
without  proximity  in  time.  The  superintendent  of 
the  gallery  hangs  the  pictures  along  close  together,  and 
does  not  leave  spaces  between  the  frames  proportionate 
to  the  intervals  of  time  that  intervened  between  the 
transactions  represented  in  the  several  pictures. 

Now  just  so  is  prophecy  constructed.  Just  such  a 
picture  gallery  are  the  symbolic  prophecies  of  the  Bible; 
succession  without  chronology,  order  without  dates, 
proximity  in  place  without  proximity  in  time.  A  few 
pictures  have  the  dates  upon  them,  but  a  very  few, 
and  much  fewer  than  is  usually  imagined. 

The  Numbers  in  the  symbolic  prophecies  are 
themselves  symbolic,  and  not  literal.  Thus  in  the 
Apocalypse,  31,  7,  10,  42,  1260,  are  all  symbolic,  and 
not  to  be  literally  understood.  This  is  fully  proved 
and  copiously  illustrated  in  the  chapter  on  the  Laws 
of  Interpretation  already  referred  to. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  give  an  opinion  as  to  the 

SPECIAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE   PROPHETIC    SYMBOLS  OF  THE 
APOCALYPSE. 

This  whole  book,  with  its  names  and  imagery,  is  man- 
ifestly symholical.  Thus  in  ii.  6,  14,  20,  Nicolaitans  or 
Balaamites,  designate  selfish  and  money -loving  ecclesi- 
astics ;  Jezebel,  a  noisy,  licentious  woman,  &c. 

In  the  book  two  cities  are  represented  as  being  de- 
stroyed, and  a  third  is  established  on  their  ruins. 


THE     REVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHN  495 

The  first,  Sodom,  is  clearly  pointed  out  to  be  Jeru- 
salem, xi.  1,  2,  8,  by  the  mention  of  the  temple  and 
iJie  holy  city — '  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified.' 
The  seven  trumpets,  therefore,  and  chapters  viii.-xi. 
clearly  refer  to  Jerusalem,  or  Jewish  institutions. 
This  we  are  sure  of  on  critical  grounds. 

The  second  city,  Babylon,  is  clearly  pointed  out  to 
be  Rome  (xiii.  18;  xvii.  9,  18).  Six  hundred  and 
sixty -six  (666)  is  the  sum  of  the  numerals  in  the  Greek 
word,  AaxBivog  Qateifios)  meaning  Roman ;  and  the  city 
on  seven  hills,  which  then  ruled  over  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  could  be  no  other  than  Rome.  The  seven  vials 
therefore,  and  chapters  xiii.-xviii.  plainly  refer  to 
Rome,  or  Roman  institutions.  This,  also,  we  are  sure 
of  on  critical  grounds.  But  Rome  appears  in  two 
forms,  first  as  a  marine  monster  (xiii.),  then  as  a  woman 
sitting  on  a  scarlet  colored  beast  (xvii.) ;  so  that  there 
must  be  two  Romes,  the  Pagan  and  the  Papal.  The 
third  city^  established  on  the  ruins  of  the  two  former, 
is  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  descends  from  God  out  of 
heaven  (xxi.  2).  From  this  fact,  we  are  also  sure  on 
critical  grounds,  that  this  third  city  must  be  symbolical, 
and  not  literal ;  and  we  are  led  to  infer  that  the  other 
two  also  are  symbolical  and  not  literal. 

The  circumstances  in  which  the  author  wrote,  the 
purpose  for  which  he  wrote,  and  the  whole  structure 
of  the  work,  show,  that  the  three  cities  are  symbolical 
of  the  three  religions  then  contending  for  supremacy ; 
the  first  two  of  which  were  united  against  the  last, 
that  is  Paganism  and  Judaism  were  united  against 
Christianity. 

The  general  subject  of  the  prophecy,  then,  is  the 


496  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

destruction  of  the  two  great  antagonist  powers  of 
Christianity,  persecuting  Judaism  and  persecuting 
Paganism,  and  the  triumph,  and  finally  complete  es- 
tablishment of  the  religion  of  Christ  over  the  whole 
world. 

In  accordance  with  the  genius  of  prophecy,  a  full 
picture  is  given  of  the  then  present  condition  of  things, 
and  the  most  prominent  and  characteristic  points  of 
the  future,  are  hastily,  but  clearly  sketched. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

Two  dates  assigned  to  it, — one  in  the  reign  of  Nero, 
the  other  in  the  reign  of  Domitian.  External  testimo- 
ny strongest  for  the  latter  date ;  internal  evidence  for 
the  earlier.  Best  statement  of  the  argument  for  the 
earlier  date,  Guericke,  Introduction  to  New  Testament, 
and  Stuart,  Introduction  to  Apocalypse.  Best  for  the 
later  date,  Alford  and  Wordsworth,  Greek  Testament 
with  Notes. 

A  regular  allegorical  poem,  as  well  as  a  book  of 
prophecy.  Its  symbols  are  not  confined  to  specific 
historic  events,  but  they  all  have  "  springing  and  ger- 
minant  accomplishment  throughout  many  ages,  the 
height  and  fulness  of  them "  belonging  to  the  great 
final  judgment;  like  the  prophecy  against  Edom,  in 
Isaiah  xxxiv.  1-8.     See  especially  vs.  2  and  5. 

The  plan  of  the  Apocalypse  indicated  in  i.  19. 

I.  The  things  wliicli  tJtou  seest^ — the  vision  of  Christ 
in  his  glorified  body  in  the  midst  of  the  churches. 

II.-III.  The  things  luhich  are^ — the  condition  of 
the  seven  churches.     Symbolic  as  well  as  literal. 

IV. -XXII.  The  things  luhich  shall  he  hereafter^ — 
the  Prophetic  Future. 


THE     EEVELATION     OF     ST.     JOHX.  497 

IV.-YII.  General,  exhibiting  the  forces  on  the  side 
of  the  saints  in  opposition  to  the  persecutors. 
IV.  God  on  his  throne. 
y.  The  lamb  with  the  book  of  fate. 

VI.  Seven  seals,  the  methods  by  which  persecutors 
in  all  times  will  be  destroyed ;  vs.  1,  2,  the  conqueror ; 
vs.  3-5,  war ;  vs.  5,  6,  famine ;  vs.  7,  8,  pestilence ;  vs. 
9-11,  prayer  of  the  saints  for  the  great  final  judgment, 
and  the  acceptance  of  the  prayer ;  vs.  12-17,  the  great 
final  judgment  itself 

VII.  Perfect  safety  of  the  saints  amid  all  the  preced- 
ing judgments. 

VIII.-XI. — Under  the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal, 
the  overthrow  of  the  first  great  persecuting  power, 
that  of  Judaism,  symbolized  by  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
xi.  1,  2,  8. 

VIII. -IX.  Seven  trumpets,  process  of  the  over- 
throw. 

X.  A  magnificent  episode,  limiting  the  time. 

XL  The  final  result. 

XII.  Birth  and  early  preservation  of  Christianity, 
symbolized  in  the  history  of  the  infancy  and  childhood 
of  Jesus. 

XIII.-XIX.  Overthrow  of  the  second  great  per- 
secuting power,  symbolized  by  the  city  of  Rome, 
xvii.  18. 

XIII. -XVI.  Overthrow  of  Pagan  Rome,  considered 
as  a  persecuting  power. 

XIII.  The  beast,  the  world-power,  as  a  persecutor. 
The  false  prophet,  the  power  of  superstition,  aiding 
the  world-power  in  its  work  of  persecution. 

XIV.  The  lamb  and  his  forces. 

32 


498  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

XV.-XYL  Seven  vials,  process  of  the  overthrow 
of  the  pagan  persecuting  power. 

XVII.-XIX.  Rome  in  another  form, — the  persecut- 
ing Papacy. 

XVII  The  harlot  riding  on  the  beast,  the  apostate 
Papal  church,  using  the  world-power  in  aid  of  its  own 
purposes  of  persecution. 

XVIII.-XIX.  Process  and  completeness  of  her  over- 
throw. 

XX.  1-6.  Resurrection  and  judgment  of  the  mar- 
tyrs and  the  persecutors  (see  Daniel  xii.  2).  The  Mil- 
lennium. 

XX.  7-XXII.  Another  rebellion  and  struggle,  final 
and  complete  triumph  of  good  over  evil, — the  last 
great  day  of  judgment. 

APOCRYPHAL  REVELATIONS. 

The  Apocryphal  Revelations,  as  a  general  fact,  are 
the  poorest  specimens  of  the  Apocryphal  Literature. 
In  nothing  has  the  human  mind  more  strikingly  exhib- 
ited its  own  imbecility  than  in  its  attempts  to  imitate 
or  counterfeit  the  divine  revelations.  Prof.  Stuart  in 
his  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,  vol.  i.  pp.  36-127, 
and  475-504,  has  given  an  elaborate  account,  with 
specimens,  of  several  of  these  works ;  and  Tischendorf 
in  his  admirable  manner  published  seven  of  them  at 
Leipsic  in  1866,  of  which  the  most  interesting  are,  1, 
Revelations  of  Moses ;  2,  of  Ezra ;  3,  of  Paul ;  and  4, 
of  John,  all  in  Greek,  and  much  better  edited  than  any 
of  the  preceding  editions. 

Among  the  best  attempts  of  this  sort  are  the  Sibyline 
Oracles,  the  Book  of  Enoch,  the  Second  Book  of  Es 


JEWS'     PLACE     OF     WAILING. 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     REVELATIONS.  499 

dras  as  it  stands  in  the  Apocrypha  of  our  English  Bi- 
bles, and  the  Shepherd  of  Hennas ;  while  among  the 
poorest  are  the  four  which  I  have  named  as  pub- 
lished by  Tischendorf  Of  the  Shepherd  of  Her- 
mas  already  a  sufficient  specimen  has  been  given  in  the 
section  on  the  Apocryphal  Epistles. 

The  Second  Book  of  Esdr^s,  as  it  stands  in  the  En- 
glish Apocrypha,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  two 
chapters  and  the  last  two,  which  are  interpolations  of 
a  later  date,  was  written  very  near  the  time  when 
John  saw  his  Apocalypse.  It  is  one  of  the  best  attempts 
at  apocalyptic  writing  by  an  uninspired  pen,  and  I 
earnestly  commend  it  as  such  to  the  reader's  particu- 
lar attention;  but  as  it  is  printed  in  all  the  English 
Bibles  which  contain  the  Apocrypha,  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  making  an  extract  from  it  here. 

THE  REVELATION  OF  PAUL. 

This  book  was  known  to  Augustin,  who  speaks  of 
it  (in  Joan.  Tract.  98)  with  great  contempt,  afl&rms  that 
no  church  received  it,  that  it  vas  full  of  the  most  fool- 
ish fables,  and  that  it  professed  to  give  utterance  to 
the  words  which  Paul  himself  said  were  not  lawful  or 
possible  for  man  to  utter.  The  church  historian  Sozo- 
men,  who  wrote  somewhat  less  than  a  century  after 
Augustin,  speaks  of  the  book  in  the  following  terms : 
"  The  Apocalypse  of  the  apostle  Paul,  though  rejected 
by  the  ancients,  is  still  esteemed  by  most  of  the  monks. 
Some  persons  affirm  that  the  book  was  found  during 
this  reign  (that  is  of  Theodosius)  by  divine  revelation, 
in  a  marble  box,  buried  beneath  the  soil,  in  the  house 
of  Paul,  at  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia.    I  have  been  informed  that 


500  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

this  report  is  false,  by  a  presbyter  at  Tarsus,  a  man  of 
very  advanced  age,  as  is  indicated  by  his  grey  hairs. 
He  says  that  the  rumor  was  probably  devised  by  her- 
etics."    Sozomen,  Ecc.  Hist.  vii.  21. 

The  oldest  manuscript  which  Tischendorf  finds  is 
the  Codex  Ambrosianus,  which  he  decides  not  to  be 
earlier  than  the  fifteenth  century.  There  are,  however, 
ancient  translations  of  the  book  into  the  Coptic,  Arabic, 
and  Syriac ;  and  our  American  missionaries  discovered 
at  Oroomiah  a  very  ancient  version  in  manuscript, 
which  was  skillfully  translated  into  English  by  Rev. 
Justin  Perkins,  D.  D.,  and  published  in  1865,  in  the 
eighth  volume  of  the  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental 
Society.  It  is  from  this  translation  of  Dr.  Perkins  that 
we  make  the  following  extracts : 

APOCALYPSE  or  PAUL. 

Revelation  of  the  holy  apostle  Pau\  which  was  revealed 
to  him  when  he  ascended  to  the  third  heaven^  and  ivas 
caught  up  into  paradise^  and  heard  words  unspeak- 
able. 

"A  certain  most  worthy  man  dwelling  in  the  city  of 
Tarsus  in  the  house  of  the  holy  Paul  the  apostle,  in 
the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  pious  emperor,  and  of  the 
most  illustrious  Gratian,  an  angel  of  the  Lord  was  re- 
vealed to  him  saying.  Break  up  the  foundation  of  this 
house,  and  what  thou  findest  take  away.  And  the 
man  did  not  understand ;  he  thought  it  was  a  lying 
dream,  and  paid  no  attention.  And  again  he  returned 
to  him  a  second  time  and  urged  him,  saying,  I  say  unto 
thee,  0  man,  pull  down  all  the  foundation  of  this  house 
and  see  every  thing  that  thou  findest  in  it ;  take  it  and 


THE     APOCRYPHAL     REVELATIONS.  501 

make  it  known  unto  the  sons  of  men,  that  they  may 
turn  from  the  evil  way  unto  life." 

"  Then  that  man  arose  in  wrath,  and  pulled  down 
the  building,  and  dug  up  the  foundation,  and  found  a 
box  of  white  glass,  and  in  it  was  that  which  the  saint 
saw  and  wrote,  namely  Paul  the  apostle,  the  blessed 
and  divine,  with  his  sandals  placed  by  the  side  of  this 
Revelation — those  sandals  he  used  to  wear  on  his  feet 
at  the  time  of  prayer — and  his  cloak  folded  up,  with 
this  Revelation.  When  he  found  them  he  brought 
them  unto  a  judge,  thinking  there  was  something  of 
gold  within.  And  he  carried  it,  still  sealed,  to  king 
Theodosius;  and  that  faithful  and  righteous  king 
opened  it,  and  he  saw  thus  inscribed :  Unto  you  I  say, 
0  sinners,  for  your  sake  God  descended  from  heaven, 
and  took  a  body  from  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  was  hung 
upon  a  tree,  that  he  might  make  you  free  from  sin. 
And  I  sent  unto  you  my  just  and  righteous  servants, 
that  ye  might  turn  unto  the  way  of  truth  ;  but  some 
of  them  ye  killed,  and  some  of  them  ye  stoned,  while 
they  were  preaching  unto  you  the  truth.  But  ye  be- 
lieved not  all  these.  And  I  gave  unto  you  a  sacra- 
ment (mystery)  for  the  repentance  of  life,  and  ye  re- 
pented not.  Now,  understand  and  behold  this  Reve- 
lation :  and  repent  of  your  wicked  ways,  and  of  eve- 
rything which  is  hateful  in  the  world.  Now  ye  see 
the  torments  which  are  recorded  in  this  Revelation ; 
and  every  one  who  turneth  not  to  the  way  of  repent- 
ance shall  be  thus  tormented.  Hitherto  ye  have  said : 
We  have  not  known.  Now,  behold,  ye  see  everything 
which  is  recorded.  Thus  Christ  gave  this  vision  unto 
the  great  and  blessed  apostle  Paul ;  who,  so  long  as 


502  THE   BOOKS   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

he  was  in  the  world,  taught  and  preached ;  and  now 
also,  in  this  Revelation,  He  hath  made  known  unto 
him  that  the  sons  of  men  should  turn  through  him ; 
after  his  death  by  this  Revelation  should  they  be  in- 
structed. Be  astonished,  0  my  beloved,  at  this  man 
of  wonders !  How  much  he  loved  his  Lord !  And  he 
concealed  not  from  him  even  one  thing  of  what  took 
place ;  not  in  regard  to  the  righteous,  nor  in  regard  to 
the  wicked. 

Look  on  this,  0  ye  sons  of  men,  and  see  that  every- 
thing which  God  has  created  has  a  zeal  for  him  ;  but 
the  sons  of  men  forget  him.  It  is  not  proper  that  we 
forget  the  long-suffering  of  God  unto  us,  every  day. 
Repent,  therefore,  0  sons  of  men;  for  the  Lord  is 
merciful  and  of  tender  compassion ;  repent  of  your 
wicked  deeds,  and  praise  God  without  ceasing,  by 
night  and  by  day.  And  more  especially  in  the  even- 
ing and  the  morning  pray  on  account  of  your  sins,  on 
account  of  evil  temptations  and  snares ;  for  every 
creature  of  God  praises  him  always  in  the  morning ; 
and  praise  is  becoming  for  him  from  every  one.  It  is 
also  necessary  that  we  offer  unto  him  good  works, 
every  one  for  himself  Everything  that  a  man  does 
from  morning  until  evening,  whether  good  or  bad,  the 
guardian  angel  goes  forth  in  mourning  and  sorrow  on 
account  of  men,  unto  God,  namely  he  who  preserves 
a  mortal  from  all  injuries ;  for  in  the  image  of  God  is 
he,  wherefore  the  guardianship  of  the  sons  of  men  is 
committed  to  an  angel.  When  the  angel  sees  a  mortal 
committing  wickedness,  the  angel  is  afraid  of  him ;  for 
all  the  angels,  guardians  of  the  sons  of  men,  from 
morning  unto  morning,  go  in  before  God,  and  every- 


THE    APOCRYPHAL    REVELATIONS.  503 

thing  that  a  mortal  does  is  known  ;  therefore  prayer  is 
appointed  at  that  time,  that  peradventure  at  the  hour 
when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  goeth,  the  mortal  may  be 
engaged  in  prayer ;  and  they  present  before  him  the 
works  of  man,  whatever  he  doeth,  by  day  and  by 
night.  Remember  therefore,  0  ye  sons  of  men,  and 
praise  God  all  your  days,  and  especially  at  the  time 
when  the  angels  worship.  For  first  do  the  holy  angels 
run,  that  they  may  reach  that  hour  which  is  appointed 
to  them  for  service,  with  their  companions  and  friends ; 
so  also  we,  the  sons  of  men. 

Again  after  these  things,  I  saw  one  of  the  spiritual 
ones  coming  unto  me,  and  he  caught  me  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  carried  me  to  the  third  heaven.  And  the 
angel  answered  and  said  unto  me  :  Follow  me,  Paul, 
that  T  may  show  unto  thee  the  place  of  the  saints,  that 
thou  mayest  know  whither  they  go,  when  they  depart 
from  the  world.  Then  I  will  carry  thee  to  the  abyss 
beneath  and  show  thee  the  souls  of  sinners,  where  they 
dwell  after  the  resurrection ;  that  thou  mayest  know, 
0  Paul,  what  will  be  their  reward.  And  I  followed 
the  angel,  who  made  known  to  me  all  these  things ; 
and  he  carried  me  above,  and  I  looked  upon  the  fir- 
mament of  heaven ;  and  I  saw  that  there  were  there 
principalities  who  had  been  in  the  world ;  and  there 
were  there  spirits  of  deception,  who  lead  astray  the 
heart  of  the  sons  of  men  from  God  ;  and  there  are  the 
evil  spirits  of  accusation  and  fornication  and  the  love 
of  money,  and  all  those  things  in  which  they  walked ; 
and,  behold,  they  are  gathered  for  witness ;  even  all 
the  evil  spirits  that  are  under  heaven.  And  I  saw  there 
angels  in  whom  there  is  no  mercy ;  and  their  faces 


504  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

were  full  of  wrath ;  every  tooth  they  had  protruded 
from  their  mouths,  and  their  eyes  sparkled  like  light- 
ning ;  and  the  hair  of  their  heads  was  thick  and  very 
strong ;  and  as  it  were  a  flame  of  fire  proceeded  from 
their  mouths.  And  I  inquired  of  the  angel  who  was 
with  me,  and  said  :  What  are  these,  my  Lord  ?  And  he 
said  to  me :  These  are  angels  in  whom  there  is  no 
mercy,  who  are  sent  after  the  souls  of  sinners  and  the 
wicked,  after  those  who  had  not  repentance  before 
they  departed  out  of  the  world ;  who  did  not  believe 
our  God,  nor  wait  for  his  salvation,  that  there  might 
be  unto  them  a  Helper. 

And  I,  Paul,  groaned  and  I  wept.  Then  I  said  un- 
to him :  0  my  Lord,  wilt  thou  not  grant  that  I  may 
see  in  what  manner  the  souls  of  the  righteous  and  of 
the  wicked  depart  out  of  this  world  ?  And  he  said  unto 
me :  Paul,  look  down  and  see  the  thing  which  thou 
requestest.  And  I  looked  and  saw,  and  beheld  one 
of  the  sons  of  men  fallen  nigh  unto  death.  And  the 
angel  said  unto  me :  This  is  a  just  one  and  righteous 
in  all  his  works.  And  I  saw  everything  which  he  did 
for  God  standing  before  him  in  the  hour  of  his  depart- 
ure from  the  world.  Then  I,  Paul,  perceived  that  he 
was  righteous  who  was  now  dying ;  and  he  found  for 
himself  rest,  even  before  dying.  And  there  approach- 
ed liim  wicked  angels  —  when  a  righteous  one  departs, 
they  do  not  find  a  place  by  him  —  and  those  good 
angels  ruled  over  that  righteous  one.  And  they  drew 
out  of  him  the  soul,  while  alluring  it  with  rest ;  and 
again  they  restored  it  to  him,  while  inviting  it  and  say- 
ing :  0  soul,  be  assured,  as  for  this  thy  body,  0  holy 
one,    tliou  wilt  return  into  it  in  the  resurrection,  and 


THE   APOCRYPHAL   REVELATIONS.  505 

thou  wilt  receive  the  promises  of  the  living  God  with 
all  the  saints.  Then  that  soul  was  carried  from  the 
body ;  and  they  inquired  after  its  health,  as  though  it 
had  grown  up  with  them ;  and  took  delight  with  it  in 
love ;  and  they  said  unto  it :  Blessed  art  thou,  0  hap- 
py soul,  which  every  day  didst  perform  the  will  of 
God,  and  now  takest  delight  in  pleasures.  And  there 
came  to  meet  it  he  who  was  its  guardian  in  its  life,  and 
said  to  it :  0  soul  of  mine,  be  of  good  courage,  and 
be  joyful,  and  I  will  rejoice  over  thee  that  thou  hast 
done  the  will  of  our  Lord  all  the  days  of  thy  life ;  and 
I  carried  thy  good  works,  by  day  and  by  night,  before 
God.  And  again  I  turned  and  said  to  my  soul :  Do 
not  fear,  in  that  behold  thou  seest  a  place  thou  hast 
never  seen.  And  while  I  was  beholding  these  things, 
that  spirit  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  that  it  might 
ascend  to  heaven.  And  there  went  out  to  meet  it 
wicked  powers,  those  that  are  under  heaven.  And 
there  reached  it  the  spirit  of  error  and  said :  Whither 
dost  thou  presume,  0  soul  ?  and  art  thou  running  that 
thou  mayest  enter  heaven  ?  Stop,  that  we  may  see , 
perhaps  there  is  in  thee  something  that  belongs  to  us, 
that  we  may  narrate  a  little.  And  that  soul  was  bound 
there  ;  and  there  was  a  fight  between  the  good  angels 
and  the  evil  angels.  And  when  that  spirit  of  decep- 
tion saw,  it  bewailed  with  a  loud  voice  and  said :  Woe 
unto  thee,  0  soul,  that  we  have  found  in  thee  nothing 
of  ours !  and  lo,  all  the  angels  and  the  spirits  are  help- 
ing thee  against  us,  and  behold  these  all  are  with  thee ; 
thou  hast  passed  out  from  us.  And  there  went  forth 
another  spirit,  the  spirit  of  temper,  and  the  spirit  of 
fornication ;  and  they  came  to  meet  it ;  and  when  they 


506  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

saw  it,  they  wept  over  it  and  said  :  How  was  this  soul 
escaped  from  us !  It  did  the  will  of  God  on  earth,  and 
behold  the  angels  help  it  and  pass  it,  and  pass  it  along 
from  us.  And  all  the  principalities  and  evil  spirits 
came  to  meet  it,  even  unto  it ;  and  they  did  not  find 
in  it  anything  that  was  from  them ;  and  they  were  not 
able  to  do  anything  to  it ,  and  they  gnashed  their 
teeth  upon  that  soul  and  said  :  How  hast  thou  escaped 
from  us  ?  And  the  angel  which  conducted  it  in  life 
answered  and  said  unto  them  :  Return,  0  ye  mortified 
ones ;  ye  have  no  way  of  access  to  it ;  with  many  arti- 
fices ye  enticed  when  it  was  on  earth,  and  it  did  not 
listen  to  you  And  after  this  I  heard  the  voice  of 
myriads  of  angels  praising  God  and  saying :  Rejoice 
and  be  glad,  0  soul ;  be  strengthened  and  do  not  fear. 
And  they  marvelled  much  at  the  soul,  when  they  saw 
it  holding  the  seal  of  the  living  God  in  its  hand.  And 
thus  they  were  giving  it  heart  and  saying  :  We  all  re- 
joice over  thee,  that  thou  hast  done  the  will  of  thy 
Lord.  And  they  carried  it  and  placed  it  before  the 
throne  of  the  living  God,  while  they  all  rejoiced  with 
it.  And  there  was  a  great  cessation ;  afterwards  silence 
reigned  for  a  considerable  time.  And  afterwards  the 
angels  ceased,  to  wit,  those  angels  that  worshipped  be- 
fore the  footstool  of  God  with  that  soul.  And  there 
began  the  angel,  who  was  the  guide  of  that  soul,  and 
said:  0  Lord  God,  merciful  and  compassionate,  re- 
member this  soul  and  do  not  forget  it ;  and  do  unto  it 
according  to  the  abundance  of  thy  mercy  and  according 
to  thy  right  judgments.  And  a  voice  was  heard,  say- 
ing :  He  is  just.  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord,  the  same 
which  guided  it  in  life,  said :    I  am  that  spirit  of  life 


THE    APOCRYPHAL   REVELATIONS.  507 

that  dwelt  in  it,  and  I  found  to  myself  rest.  Do  unto 
it,  0  Lord,  according  to  thy  right  judgments.  And  a 
voice  was  heard,  saying :  As  that  did  not  distress  thee, 
we  will  not  distress  that ;  and  as  it  shewed  mercy,  we 
also  will  shew  unto  it  mercy.  And  they  committed  it 
to  Michael,  the  chief  of  the  angels,  the  same  who 
stands  at  the  door  of  life ;  and  he  commanded  it  that 
it  should  carry  it  to  Paradise,  to  remain  until  the  day 
on  which  it  shall  return  to  its  body,  in  the  resurrection ; 
and  it  shall  take  delight  with  its  body,  in  that  ever- 
lasting bliss  and  delight  with  the  saints.  And  after 
this  I  heard  a  voice,  saying :  Righteous  art  thou,  0 
Lord,  and  very  right  thy  judgments,  and  with  thee 
there  is  no  partiality.  This  was  the  voice  of  the  myr- 
iads of  the  adoring  Cherubim  and  the  holy  Seraphim. 
And  I  saw  twenty -nine  aged  ones,  who  were  adoring 
and  praising  and  saying :  Thou  art  righteous,  0  Lord, 
and  very  right  are  thy  judgments,  and  there  is  not 
with  thee  partiality ;  and  thou  rewardest  every  man 
according  to  his  works.  And  the  angel  who  was  with 
me  answered  and  said :  Dost  thou  know,  Paul  ?  every 
man  who  doeth  good  findeth  for  himself  rest  when  he 
goeth  out  from  the  world ;  and  everything  excellent 
and  good  is  rewarded. 

And  the  angel  said:  Look  down,  Paul,  and  see. 
And  I  looked  down  and  saw,  and  behold  another  soul 
departing  from  the  body.  And  I  said  unto  him :  0  my 
Lord,  whose  soul  is  this  ?  And  he  said  unto  me :  Know 
thou  that  this  man  was  wicked ;  and  he  provoked  God 
by  day  and  by  night,  while  he  said :  There  is  nothing 
else  for  us  in  the  world,  except  that  we  eat  and  drink 
with  the  young.     For  who  has  gone  down  to  hell  and 


508  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE   BIBLE. 

come  back,  or  told  us  that  there  is  a  judgment  ?  And 
I  saw  that  bitter  hour ;  and  I  saw  all  his  wickedness 
coming  before  him  and  after  him,  while  it  encompassed 
him  before  his  eyes ;  and  I  saw  that  hour  embittered 
to  him  from  the  judgment  that  was  to  come.  And 
that  man  was  saying :  0  that  I  had  not  been  born,  nor 
brought  forth  in  the  world !  And  I  saw  that  the  good 
angels  descended  to  meet  him,  and  they  looked  upon 
him  and  saw  darkness  encompassing  him  round  about, 
and  the  foul  odor  of  his  evil  deeds,  so  that  they  could 
not  come  nigh  unto  him ;  and  there  came  also  those 
evil  angels.  When  that  soul  saw  both  parties,  it  was 
shaken.  And  those  good  angels  saw  that  it  had  not 
one  good  work ;  and  when  they  fled  away  from  it, 
those  evil  angels  took  the  rule  over  it  and  pulled  it  out 
in  severe  anger  and  haste.  And  when  it  went  out, 
they  turned  it  back  three  times,  saying  unto  it :  Look, 
0  miserable  soul,  upon  thy  body  and  think  of  thy 
house ;  as  from  that  from  which  thou  departest,  again 
wilt  thou  return  unto  it  in  the  day  of  the  resurrection, 
and  thou  wilt  be  recompensed,  all  that  is  proper,  for 
thy  wickedness." 

This  book  is  of  a  much  later  period  and  altogether 
inferior  to  the  second  book  of  Esdras ;  and  by  taking 
the  two  and  comparing  them  together,  and  then  com- 
paring both  with  the  genuine  Revelation  of  John,  the 
reader  has  the  means  of  forming  his  own  opinion  as  to 
the  character  of  these  Revelations  respectively. 


CHAPTER    THIRTEENTH. 

HEBREW   AND    PAGAN   PROPHETS,    OR   BIBLE    PROPHECIES 
AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES. 

In  connection  with  tlie  Revelation  of  John  and  the 
Apocryphal  Revelations,  it  seems  desirable  also  to  see 
what  can  be  offered  in  this  department  by  the  most 
cultivated  nations  of  pagan  antiquity.  The  Classical 
Oracles  are  very  different  from  the  Apocryphal  Reve- 
lations, and  equally  different  from  the  divine  prophe- 
cies which  we  have  in  the  Bible.  Let  us  see  how  the 
case  stands  between  them. 

All  early  nations  have  had  their  prophets ;  but  the 
affirmative  to  the  question,  have  there  been  false  pro- , 
phets?  is  not  of  course  the  negative  to  the  question, 
have  there  been  true  prophets  ?  Rather,  the  univer- 
sality of  the  false  proves  the  necessity  and  actual  ex- 
istence of  the  true  ;  for  there  is  no  feeling  of  human 
nature  so  universal  as  that  which  induces  all  men  in 
every  age  to  look  for  prophecy,  which  has  not  some- 
thing in  the  arrangements  of  the  God  of  nature  to 
correspond  to  it.  That  disposition  to  worship,  which 
so  universally  leads  uninstructed  nations  to  idolatry, 
proves  that  the  necessity  of  religion  is  founded  deep 
in  human  nature,  and  is  a  strong  presumptive  argu- 


510  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

ment  that  tliere  is  a  true  religion  adapted  to  this  want 
of  the  human  soul,  and  a  true  God  worthy  of  the  love 
and  homage  of  men.  The  eye  presupposes  light,  the 
sense  of  smell  fragrance ;  and  every  natural  desire  has 
in  nature  its  appropriate  object  of  gratification. 

The  question  is  not,  whether  there  have  been  proph- 
ets among  the  pagan  nations  ?  but  whether  the  proph- 
ets of  the  heathen  and  of  the  Bible  are  alike?  or 
whether  the  difference  between  them  is  so  great  as  to 
render  it  impossible  to  ascribe  their  prophetic  power 
to  the  same  source  ? 

The  Bible  continually  and  earnestly  asserts  that  there 
is  a  difference,  and  that  this  difference  is  so  marked, 
that  no  one  who  has  had  opportunity  for  observing,  is 
excusable  for  confounding  the  one  with  the  other.  Let 
us  look  at  the  matter  as  it  actually  existed. 

HEBREW  AND  PAGAN  RELIGIONS. 

The  Hebrews  were  the  only  people  of  the  ancient 
world  who  acknowledged  and  worshipped  one  spirit- 
ual God,  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  universe.  To 
sustain  their  attachment  to  this  simple  and  pure  faith, 
in  the  midst  of  surrounding  idolatry,  there  existed 
among  them,  in  addition  to  the  Levites  who  were  set 
apart  for  the  same  purpose,  an  order  of  men  called 
prophets,  to  whom  the  will  of  their  God  was  supposed 
to  be  made  known  by  immediate  revelation.  It  was 
their  business  to  encourage  the  people  in  their  obedi- 
ence to  the  divine  law,  to  instruct  them  when  they 
erred,  and  to  warn  them  when  they  went  astray.  In 
order  to  prove  the  validity  of  their  claims  to  divine  in- 
spiration, they  professed  to  predict  future  events  which 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.       511 

no  human  sagacity  could  foresee,  and  to  work  miracles 
which  no  human  power  could  effect. 

The  surrounding  nations  worshipped  idols,  and  they 
also  had  prophets  who  professed  to  be  inspired  by 
those  false  deities.  The  Gentiles  all  acknowledged 
the  God  of  the  Hebrews  to  be  really  a  God,  and  their 
prophets  to  be  truly  prophets ;  but  the  difference  con- 
sisted in  this,  that  while  the  Hebrews  affirmed  their 
God  to  be  the  only  true  God,  and  their  prophets  the 
only  true  prophets,  the  Gentiles  merely  claimed  that 
their  gods  were  equal  to  Jehovah,  and  their  prophets 
equal  to  the  prophets  of  Jehovah  (1  Kings  xx.  28). 
The  God  of  the  Hebrews,  in  many  passages  of  the 
Bible,  reproves  the  pagan  nations  for  this  their  error, 
and  calls  upon  them  to  renounce  it.  For  example,  in 
the  forty-fifth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  after  a  very  circum- 
stantial prediction  respecting  Cyrus,  in  which  that  mon- 
arch is  called  by  name,  and  his  various  achievements 
are  particularly  described,  at  least  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  his  birth ;  the  God  of  the  Hebrews 
is  represented  as  declaring  that  he  had  uttered  this 
prediction  for  the  express  purpose  of  showing  to  Cy- 
rus, that  Jehovah,  the  Self-Existent,  the  Everlasting 
God,  was  the  God  of  Israel  (Isaiah  xlv.  1-7.) 

He  then  contrasts  his  creative  power,  his  open, 
frank  declarations,  and  his  undeviating  truth,  with  the 
crooked  cunning  and  falsehood  of  the  pagan  deities 
(vs.  18,  19).  Finally,  he  calls  all  nations  to  come  to- 
gether, and,  before  them  all,  appeals  to  this  prophecy 
as  an  instance  of  foreknowledge  altogether  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  heathen  prophets,  and  a  triumphant  proof 
that  he  alone  is  the  true  God,  and  his  prophets  the  only 


512  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

true  prophets  (vs.  20-22).  It  will  be  my  object  in 
this  chapter  to  follow  out  the  train  of  thought  here 
suggested,  and  by  contrasting  the  Hebrew  with  the 
heathen  prophets,  to  show  that  the  former  only  have 
a  just  claim  to  divine  inspiration. 

PROPHETS  OF  ANCIENT  GREECE. 

The  Grecians  were  the  most  celebrated  for  learning 
and  refinement  of  all  the  ancient  nations,  and  the  epis- 
tles of  Paul  contain  frequent  allusions  to  the  fame  of 
their  wisdom.  The  Greeks  had  their  prophets,  and  to 
them  the  Greek  moralists,  lawgivers,  and  magistrates 
submitted  the  most  important,  questions,  and  their  de- 
cisions- were  considered  sacredly  binding  by  this  pol- 
ished and  philosophical  people.  The  prophets  of  an- 
cient Greece,  then,  being  the  best  which  the  heathen 
world  can  furnish,  will  be  selected  as  the  subjects  of 
comparison  with  th^  prophets  of  the  Bible. 

To  enable  the  reader  to  make  the  comparison  for 
himself,  I  will  attempt  to  give  a  brief  and  faithful  de- 
scription of  the  Greek  prophets,  as.- represented  by  the 
Greek  historians,  and  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  as  they 
are  represented  in  the  Bible. 

'There  can  surely  be  no  objection  to  this  mode  of 
iiivestigating  the  subject ;  for  it  allows  each  nation  to 
give  its  own  account  of  those  for  whom  it  claims  divine 
inspiration,  and  to  whom  it  attributes  a  knowledge  of 
future  events. 

There  was  one  class  of  sacred  persons  among  the 
ancient  Greeks  called  theomantes,  who  may,  in  some 
respects,  be  compared  with  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
They  seem  to  have  united  in  their  occupation  the 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.       513 

character  of  itinerant  preacher  and  fortune-teller ;  for 
they  rambled  through  the  country,  giving  people  ad- 
vice in  regard  to  their  moral  duties,  chanting  passages 
of  the  poets,  and  pretending  to  lay  open  the  secrets 
of  futurity.  But  they  never  ventured  on  predictions, 
tiU  after  offerings  had  been  made  and  certain  prescribed 
ceremonies  accurately  performed — the  common  expe- 
dient of  all  imposters  to  conceal  the  artifices  by  which 
they  dupe  vulgar  credulity. 

Poorly  qualified  as  these  theomantes  were  for  reli- 
gious teachers,  it  was  to  them  alone  that  the  common 
people  of  this  celebrated  nation  could  look  for  spiritual 
guidance.  None  of  their  instructions  have  descended 
to  our  times.  (Compare  Eichhorn's  Introduction  to 
the  Old  Testament,  in  German,  preface  to  vol.  iv.) 

GREEK    ORACLES. 

Those,  however,  who  can  more  properly  be  compar- 
ed with  the  Hebrew  prophets,  were  the  attendants  on 
the  various  oracles.  These  separated  themselves  from 
all  human  society  and  withdrew  to  some  solitude,  where 
a  thick  wood,  a  craggy  mountain,  a  waterfall,  or  a  dark 
cave,  might  awaken  the  awe  of  their  superstitious 
countrymen,  and  impose  upon  them  the  belief  that 
there  was  the  residence  of  some  pagan  deity.  There 
they  lived  in  mysterious  retirement,  and  pretended  to 
hold  intercourse  with  the  invisible  world.  Thither 
must  all  repair  who  wished  to  consult  them ;  and  no 
one  could  obtain  an  answer  to  his  inquiries,  till  he  had 
presented  gifts  to  the  god  of  the  place,  and  passed 
through  various  ceremonies,  all  calculated  to  put  him 
in  such  a  state  of  shuddering  apprehension  as  would 
33 


514  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

prevent  his  detecting  an  imposition,  or  suspecting  the 
artifice  of  which  he  was  made  the  dupe.  The  responses 
were  then  given,  artfully  expressed  in  hexameter  verse 
by  poets  hired  for  that  purpose ;  but  their  language 
is  so  chosen,  that  it  is  always  more  or  less  equivocal 
and  often  unintelligible.  Many  of  these  oracles  or 
prophecies  have  been  preserved  by  the  Greek  histori- 
ans, though  no  two  writers,  when  they  profess  to  re- 
cord the  same  oracle,  ever  give  it  in  precisely  the  same 
words. 

We  have  enough  of  these  remains  to  enable  us  to 
form  an  estimate  of  the  subjects,  which  were  usually 
laid  before  the  Greek  prophets,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  disposed  of  them.  Religion  or  morality 
is  very  seldom  mentioned.  They  were  principally  oc- 
cupied about  public  enterprise,  emigrations,  wars,  and 
controversies  between  states  and  individuals.  When 
disputes  were  to  be  settled  by  them,  they  were  often 
bribed  by  one  party  to  give  sentence  against  the  other  ; 
if  they  desired  to  keep  in  favor  with  both,  they  would 
procrastinate  and  evade  the  question.  When  the  issue 
of  public  enterprises  was  demanded,  they  sometimes 
learned  from  men  of  experience  in  public  affairs  what 
reply  it  would  be  most  safe  to  give ;  or  their  answers 
were  so  artfully  couched,  that  they  could  bear  opposite 
meanings.  If  these  expedients  failed,  they  refeiTcd 
the  inquirer  to  tlie  superstitious  arts  of  magic  and 
astrology ;  or  they  evaded  the  point  by  railery,  and 
instead  of  instructing  by  prophecy,  amused  or  irritated 
by  sarcasm ;  and  when  every  source  of  cunning  was  ex- 
hausted, they  Avould  say  that  their  god  was  angry  and 
refused  to  answer.     What  is  remarkable  in  all  their 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.       515 

prophecies  is,  they  seldom,  if  ever,  have  any  good  moral 
tendency.  Virtue  is  not  rewarded,  nor  vice  punished. 
Power  is  flattered,  however  unjust ;  and  weakness  is 
left  unprotected,  however  innocent.  The  grossest 
idolatry  is  always  inculcated ;  and  in  many  instances, 
the  horrid  superstition  of  sacrificing  human  beings  to 
the  infernal  gods  is  expressly  enjoined. 

An  extravagant  pecuniary  reward  was  generally  the 
only  condition  on  which  these  pretended  prophecies 
could  be  obtained. 

Every  part  of  this  description  of  the  Greek  prophets 
can  be  verified  by  quotations  from  the  Greek  histori- 
ans. (Compare  Potter's  Antiquities  of  Greece,  Book 
ii.  chap.  7-12.) 

ORACLES  OF  APOLLO  AND  TROPHONIUS. 

It  is  obvious  from  history,  that  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  Greek  oracles  owed  their  celebrity 
to  exhilarating  or  stupefying  gases  issuing  from,  sub- 
terranean caverns.  Of  all  the  oracles  of  ancient 
Greece,  none  was  more  confided  in  than  that  of  Apollo 
at  Delphi.  The  manner  of  its  discovery  is  thus  related 
by  Diodorus  Siculus  (Book  xvi.) :  "  Upon  mount 
Parnassus,  where  goats  were  wont  to  feed,  there  was 
a  deep  cavern  with  a  small  narrow  mouth,  to  which 
when  any  of  the  goats  approached,  they  began  imme- 
diately to  leap  after  a  most  unusual  and  antic  manner, 
uttering  strange  and  unheard  of  sounds.  The  goat- 
herd observing  this,  and  wondering  what  could  be 
the  cause  of  it,  went  himself  to  view  the  cavern,  where- 
upon he  also  was  seized  with  a  like  fit  of  madness, 
leaping  and  dancing,  and  foretelling  things  to  come." 


516  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

The  effect  of  this  gas  on  the  ofiiciating  priestess,  is 
thus  described  by  archbishop  Potter  in  the  work  akeady 
quoted :  "  She  was  no  sooner  inspired,  but  she  began 
immediately  to  swell  and  foam  at  the  mouth,  tearing 
her  hair,  cutting  her  flesh,  and  in  all  her  other  behav- 
ior appearing  like  one  frantic  and  distracted."  In 
some  instances  the  paroxysm  was  so  violent  as  to  occa- 
sion immediate  death. 

Pausanias  informs  us  that  "he  who  desired  to  con- 
sult the  oracles  of  Trophonius's  cave  at  Lebadea  in 
Boeotia,  was  obliged  to  undergo  various  preparatory 
ceremonies,  which  continued  through  several  days :  he 
was  to  purify  himself  by  various  methods,  and  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  many  different  deities ;  he  was  then  con- 
ducted by  night  to  a  neighboring  river,  where  he  was 
anointed  and  washed ;  he  afterwards  drank  of  the  wa- 
ters of  forgetfulness,  that  his  former  cares  might  be 
buried ;  and  of  the  waters  of  remembrance,  that  he 
might  forget  nothing  of  what  he  was  to  see.  The 
cave  was  surrounded  by  a  wall ;  it  resembled  an  oven ; 
was  four  cubits  wide  and  eight  deep  ;  it  was  descended 
by  a  ladder ;  and  he  who  went  down  carried  with  him 
cakes  made  of  honey ;  when  he  was  got  down  he  was 
made  acquainted  with  futurity."  (See  Beloe's  Hero- 
dotus, vol.  i.  p.  36.) 

He  was  always  pale  and  dejected  on  his  return,  and 
thence  it  became  proverbial  to  say  of  a  melancholy 
man,  that  he  had  consulted  the  oracle  of  Trophonius. 

It  was  in  contrast  with  oracles  such  as  these  that  Je- 
hovah declares,  /  have  not  spoken  in  secret^  in  a  dark 
place  of  the  earth  :  and  in  contrast  with  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  the  oracular  responses,  and  their  ambigu- 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND   CLASSICAL   ORACLES.       517 

ous  and  unintelligible  language  when  obtained,  (whicli 
we  shall  now  proceed  to  notice),  that  he  makes  the  ad- 
ditional declarations :  /  said  not  to  the  seed  of  Jacoh^ 
seek  ye  me  in  vain.  I  the  Lord  speak  righteousness.^  I 
declare  things  that  are  right:  that  is,  as  bishop  Lowth 
translates  it,  "I  speak  truth  and  give  direct  answers." 
(Isa.  xlv.  19). 

The  time  of  consulting  the  Delphic  oracle  was  origin- 
ally only  during  one  month  of  the  year,  and  generally 
on  the  seventh  day  of  the  month,  that  being  consid- 
ered Apollo's  birthday ;  and  when  responses  were 
given  most  frequently,  they  could  never  be  obtained 
oftener  than  once  a  month. 

"Whoever  went  to  consult  the  oracle,"  says  Potter, 
"was  required  to  make  large  presents  to  the  god,  where- 
by it  came  to  pass  that  this  temple,  in  riches,  splendor 
and  magnificence,  was  superior  to  almost  all  others  in 
the  world."  "  It  was  the  custom  also  to  offer  sacrifices 
to  Apollo,  in  which  except  the  omens  were  favorable, 
the  prophetess  would  not  give  an  answer.  At  the 
sacrifices  there  were  five  priests  that  assisted  the  proph- 
ets, and  another  priest  also  that  assisted  the  prophetess 
in  managing  the  oracle."  (Potter's  Antiquities  of 
Greece,  Bookii.  chap.  9.^ 

As  those  priests  were  the  sole  judges  of  the  omens, 
it  was  very  easy  for  them  to  evade  every  question 
respecting  which  it  might  be  inexpedient  for  them  to 
commit  themselves. 

Among  the  presents  which  Croesus  sent  to  this  ora- 
cle. Herodotus  (B.  i.  c.  50,  51)  enumerates  the  follow- 
ing, "  one  hundred  and  seventeen  tiles  of  gold,  four 
of  which  were  of  the  purest  gold,  each  weighing  one 


518  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

talent  and  a  half;  tlie  rest  of  inferior  quality,  but  of 
the  weight  of  two  talents  ;  also  a  lion  of  pure  gold, 
weighing  ten  talents ;  two  large  vessels  or  goblets,  one 
of  gold  and  the  other  of  silver,  the  former  weighing 
nearly  nine  talents,  and  the  latter  containing  six  hun- 
dred amphorae ;  a  female  statue  of  gold,  three  cubits 
high,"  and  many  other  things  of  equal  value. 

To  the  oracle  of  Amphiarus  in  Thebes  he  also  sent 
''a  shield  of  solid  gold,  with  a  strong  spear  made  en- 
tirely of  gold,  both  shaft  and  head.  These  were  all, 
(continues  Herodotus)  within  my  memory,  preserved 
at  Thebes,  in  the  temple  of  the  Ismenian  Apollo." 

They  who  consulted  this  oracle  of  Amphiarus,  were 
to  abstain  from  wine  for  three  days,  and  from  all 
nourishment  for  twenty-four  hours.  They  then  sacrificed 
a  ram,  on  the  skin  of  which  they  lay  down  to  sleep, 
and  received  responses  in  their  dreams. 

CHARACTER    OF    THE    ORACULAR   RESPONSES. 

The  general  character  of  the  oracular  responses  is 
described  by  the  pagan  Cicero,  with  entire  fidelity,  in 
the  following  paragraph  from  his  work  de  Divinatione 
(ii.  56). 

"But  now  I  come  to  thee,  sacred  Apollo,  who  dwell- 
est  at  the  centre  of  the  earth,  whence  first  proceeded 
the  wild  and  superstitious  sound.*  For  Chrysippus 
has  filled  a  whole  volume  with  thy  oracles,  partly  false, 
as  I  think ;  and  sometimes  true  by  mere  accident,  as 
it  frequently  so  happens  in  other  cases ;  and  sometimes 


*Sed  jam  nd  te  venio, 
Sancte  Apollo,  qui  umbilicum  certum  terrarum  obsides, 
Unde  superstitiosa  primum  sueva  evasit  vox  fera. 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.        519 

enigmatical  and  obscure,  so  that  the  interpreter  needs 
to  be  interpreted,  and  the  response  referred  back  to 
the  oracle  ;  and  often  purposely  and  artificially  ambig- 
uous. For  when  this  response  came  to  the  richest  king 
of  Asia,  "Croesus  by  crossing  the  Halys  shall  destroy 
a  great  power,"' he  supposed  that  he  was  to  destroy  the 
power  of  the  enemy,  but  he  destroyed  his  own. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  event,  therefore,  the 
oracle  would  have  remained  true." 

Herodotus  informs  us  (B.  i.  c.  91)  that  when  Croesus, 
after  his  defeat,  made  complaint  to  the  priestess  of 
Apollo,  that  she  had  deceived  him  in  the  oracle  re- 
ferred to  in  this  passage  of  Cicero,  she  replied,  "that 
Croesus  was  not  justified  in  his  complaints  ;  for  Apollo 
had  declared,  that  if  he  made  war  against  the  Persians, 
a  mighty  empire  would  be  overthrown ;  the  real  pur- 
port of  which  communication,  if  he  had  been  anxious 
to  understand,  it  became  him  to  have  inquired  wheth- 
er the  god  alluded  to  his  empire,  or  to  the  empire  of 
Cyrus ;  but  that  not  understanding  the  reply  which 
had  been  made,  nor  condescending  to  make  a  second 
inquiry,  he  had  been  himself  the  cause  of  his  own  mis- 
fortune." By  this  evasion,  the  unfortunate  king  found 
that  he  had  been  outwitted,  and  was  obliged  to  submit 
in  silence. 

To  illustrate  still  further  the  nature  of  the  subjects 
which  were  usually  laid  before  the  Greek  prophets, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  disposed  of  them,  the 
following  examples  are  selected  from  Herodotus. 

On  a  certain  occasion  the  Lacedemonians,  says  Her- 
odotus, "  dissatisfied  with  the  languor  and  inactivity 
of  peace,  and  conceiving  themselves,  in  all  respects, 


520  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

superior  to  the  Tegeans,  they  sent  to  consult  the  oracle 
concerning  the  entire  conquest  of  Arcadia.  The  Py- 
thian thus  answered  them : 

Ask  ye  Arcadia  ?  'tis  a  bold  demand, 
A  rough  and  hardy  race  defend  the  land. 
Repulsed  by  them,  one  only  boon  you  gain, 
With  frequent  foot  to  dance  on  Tegea's  plain, 
And  o'er  her  fields  the  meas'ring  cord  to  strain."* 

"No  sooner  had  the  Lacedemonians  received  this 
reply  than,  leaving  the  other  parts  of  Arcadia  unmo- 
lested, they  proceeded  to  attack  the  Tegeans,  carrying 
a  quantity  of  fetters  with  them.  They  relied  on  the 
evasive  declaration  of  the  oracle,  and  imagined  that 
they  should  infallibly  reduce  the  Tegeans  to  servitude. 
They  engaged  them  and  were  defeated :  as  many  as 
were  taken  captive  were  loaded  with  the  fetters  which 
themselves  had  brought,  and  were  thus  employed  in 
laborious  service  in  the  fields  of  the  Tegeans."  (B. 
i.  c.  66). 

The  Lacedemonians,  after  having  been  repeatedly 
defeated  by  the  Tegeans,  again  sent  to  consult  the 
Delphic  oracle.  "The  Pythian  (says  Herodotus)  as- 
sured them  of  success,  if  they  brought  back  the  body 
of  Orestes,  son  of  Agamemnon.  Unable  to  discover 
his  tomb,  they  sent  a  second  time  to  inquire  concern- 
ing the  place  of  his  interment.  The  following  was  the 
oracular  communication  : 


*  The  above  is  Beloe's  translation.  Literally  rendered,  the  latter 
part  of  the  oracle  reads  thus  :  "  But  I  will  not  refuse  you.  I  will 
grant  you  to  dance  on  Tegea,  struck  with  your  feet,  and  to  allot  the 
fine  soil  with  the  cord." 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.        521 

A  plain  within  the  Arcadian  land  I  know, 
Where  double  winds  with  forced  exertion  blow, 
Where  form  to  form  with  mutual  strength  replies, 
And  ill  by  other  ills  supported  lies : 
That  earth  contains  the  great  Atrides'  son ; 
Take  him  and  conquer :  Tegea  then  is  won." 

I  give  the  oracle  in  the  translation  of  Beloe,  but  the 
last  line,  on  which  the  import  of  the  whole  depends, 
literally  rendered,  reads  thus : 

Having  taken  Mm  (that  is,  the  body  of  Orestes), 
thou  sJialt  he  a  helper  of  Tegea. 

The  Lacedemonians  were  as  much  in  the  dark  as 
ever  in  respect  to  the  place  where  they  might  find  the 
body  of  Orestes,  but  they  continued  their  search  for 
it  without  intermission.  At  length  one  of  their  dis- 
tinguished countrymen  named  Lichas,  being  in  Arca- 
dia on  public  business,  and  happening  to  visit  a  smith 
at  his  forge,  observed  with  particular  curiosity  the 
process  of  working  the  iron.  The  man  took  notice 
of  his  attention,  and  desisted  from  his  labor.  "  Stranger 
of  Sparta,  said  he,  you  seem  to  admire  the  art  which 
you  contemplate ;  but  how  much  more  would  you  be 
excited,  if  you  knew  all  that  I  am  able  to  communi- 
cate !  Near  this  place,  as  I  was  sinking  a  well,  I  found 
a  coffin  seven  cubits  long.  I  never  believed  that  men 
were  formerly  of  larger  dimensions  than  at  present , 
but  when  I  opened  it,  I  discovered  a  body  equal  in 
length  to  the  coffin.  I  correctly  measured  it,  and  re- 
placed it  where  I  found  it." 

"Lichas,  after  hearing  this  relation,  was  induced  to 
believe  that  this  was  the  body  of  Orestes,  concerning 
which  the   oracle  had  spoken.     He  was  further  per- 


522  THE    BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

suaded,  when  he  recollected  that  the  bellows  of  the 
smith  might  intimate  the  two  winds ;  the  anvil  and  the 
hammer  might  express  one  form  opposing  another ; 
the  iron  also  which  was  beaten,  might  signify  ill  suc- 
ceeding ill,  rightly  conceiving  that  the  use  of  iron 
operated  to  the  injury  of  mankind." 

The  Spartans  by  stratagem  got  possession  of  the 
bones,  and  Tegea  was  conquered.  (Herodotus,  B.  i. 
c.  68). 

Both  the  above  oracles,  particularly  in  the  original 
Greek,  are  entirely  ambiguous,  and  would  have  been 
equally  true  in  each  case,  whether  the  Spartans  or 
Tegeans  had  conquered.  They  also  sanction  glaring 
injustice,  for  it  is  not  even  intimated  to  the  Spartans, 
that  their  projected  unprovoked  attack  on  the  peace- 
ful Tegeans,  for  the  sake  of  robbing  them  of  their 
lands  and  making  them  slaves,  was  contrary  to  every 
principle  of  right.  Nor  does  the  historiaji  himself 
seem  to  think  it  wrong  for  the  Spartans  to  make  war 
because  they  were  tired  of  peace,  nor  a  defect  in  the 
oracle  that  it  has  nothing  to  say  on  the  subject  of 
moral  obligation.  Politics,  and  not  religion,  war  and 
revenge,  not  peace  and  good-will,  were  the  topics  most 
acceptable  to  the  prophets  of  ancient  Greece. 

Herodotus  also  (B.  vii.  c.  140-142)  details  the  ora- 
cles given  to  the  Athenians,  respecting  the  issue  of  the 
Peirsian  invasion ;  and  also  several  others  in  different 
parts  of  his  history.  They  are  all  of  the  same  general 
character  with  those  already  described. 

It  is  well  known,  that  the  Greek  oracles  were  fre- 
quently bribed  by  public  men  to  give  such  answers  as 
would  promote  tlieir  own  schemes.     Plutarch  informs 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.         523 

US,  in  his  life  of  Tliemistocles,  that  this  general,  "  per- 
ceiving that  he  could  not,  by  the  force  of  human  rea- 
son, prevail  with  the  multitude,  set  his  machinery  to 
work  as  a  poet  would  do  in  a  tragedy,  and  had  recourse 
to  prodigies  and  oracles;"  and  Demosthenes  piilolicly 
complained,  that  the  Delphic  oracle,  being  bribed  by 
Philip,  ])Mlipized.  "He  put  the  Thebans  in  mind  of 
Epaminondas,  and  the  Athenians  of  Pericles,  how  they 
reckoned  such  things  (as  oracles  and  prodigies)  the 
mere  pretexts  of  cowardice,  and  pursued  the  plan 
which  their  reason  had  dictated."  (Plutarch's  Life  of 
Demosthenes). 

Such  was  the  estimation  in  which  the  Greek  oracles 
were  held  by  the  most  intelligent  of  the  Greeks  them- 
selves. And  do  you  not  in  this  description  of  the 
Greek  prophets,  as  given  by  the  Greek  historians,  plain- 
ly discover  all  the  features  of  selfishness,  imposture, 
and  crime  ? 

How  easy  for  these  pretended  prophets  to  deceive, 
if  they  chose ;  and  how  much  their  whole  system  of 
operations  appears  like  an  attempt  to  conceal  a  profit- 
able fraud !  Doubtless  the  phenomena  known  in  mod- 
ern times  as  mesmerism^  clairvoTjance^  and  spiritism^ 
had  much  to  do  with  the  workings  and  the  success  of 
the  ancient  oracles. 

Surely,  "they  have  no  knowledge  that  set  up  the 
wood  of  their  graven  image  and  p-ray  unto  a  god  that 
cannot  save.  He  feedeth  on  ashes ;  a  deceived  heart 
hath  turned  him  aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul, 
nor  say,  is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand  ?"  (Isaiah 
xlv.  20  ;  xliv.  20). 


524  THE   BOOKS   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

MANNERS    AND    CHARACTER    OF    THE    HEBREW   PROPHETS. 

From  this  scene  of  pagan  imposture  and  credulity, 
let  us  now  turn  to  the  prophets  of  the  Bible.  In  every 
respect  we  find  them  the  reverse  of  those  just  describ- 
ed. They  sought  no  concealment,  and  affected  no 
mystery ;  but  mingled  with  society,  and  lived  generally 
like  other  men.  They  were  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places  accessible  to  such  as  craved  their  advice,  and 
this  they  freely  imparted  without  exacting  gifts  to  grat- 
ify their  own  avarice,  or  requiring  ceremonies  to  work 
on  the  fears  of  those  who  consulted  them.  No  arts 
were  resorted  to,  to  deceive  others  into  a  mysterious 
dread  of  their  sacredness.  It  is  true,  that  they  some- 
times used  striking  symbolic  representations,  but  it  was 
to  awaken  the  attention  of  a  sensual  and  thoughtless 
people  to  listen  to  their  instructions.   (Isaiah  xx.  2-4), 

They  were  sometimes  seen  in  the  habiliments  of 
mourning ;  but  it  was  to  manifest  the  depth  of  the 
grief  they  felt  for  the  sin  and  the  obstinacy  of  their 
nation. 

In  their  prophecies  there  was  neither  artifice,  eva- 
sion, nor  ambiguity ;  but  they  were  prompt,  direct, 
and  decisive.  On  all  occasions  of  great  public  interest, 
they  were  seen  in  the  most  frequented  places,  enforc- 
ing their  instructions  with  the  most  sincere  and  impas- 
sioned eloquence  upon  the  listening  throngs  who  sur- 
rounded them.  These  public  addresses  they  frequently 
committed  to  writing,  and  we  have  them  in  every  form, 
from  the  simplest  prose  to  the  most  lofty  elevation  of 
poetry.  The  writings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  which 
have   descended  to  us,  are  so  full  and  complete,  that 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.        525 

we  have  every  facility  for  ascertaining  the  usual  sub- 
jects and  general  character  of  their  prophecies. 

SUBJECTS   AND    CHARACTER    OF    THEIR    PROPHECIES. 

Eeligion  was  the  great  subject  on  which  they  loved 
to  dwell,  and  with  them  religion  was  neither  an  empty 
sound  nor  a  superst-itious  ceremonial.  The  love  and 
worship  of  one  spiritual  and  holy  God,  obedience  to 
his  law,  purity  of  heart,  as  the  most  acceptable  sacri- 
fice, (an  idea  beyond  even  the  imagination  of  a  hea- 
then prophet) ;  these  constituted  the  religion  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  It  was  in  contemplation  of  subjects 
such  as  these,  that  their  spirits  moved  with  rapture, 
rose  on  the  wings  of  a  holy  enthusiasm  to  the  very 
throne  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  which  no  mortal  eye 
but  theirs  had  ever  seen,  and  no  mortal  tongue  but 
theirs  had  ever  dared  to  celebrate. 

In  all  their  prophecies,  it  was  their  constant  aim  to 
exert  the  most  salutary  moral  influence.  Calamity 
they  always  threatened  as  the  punishment  of  sin,  and 
prosperity  was  the  sure  reward  of  holy  obedience.  To 
the  corruptions  of  their  times,  they  presented  inde- 
pendent, bold,  and  unyielding  opposition ;  ungodly 
rulers,  they  fearlessly  withstood,  by  severe  and  public 
rebuke ;  and  when  kings  and  people  united  to  abolish 
or  disregard  the  laws  of  God,  these  holy  men  came 
forth  (though  hatred,  persecution,  imprisonment,  and 
death  were  often  the  reward  of  their  fidelity)  with 
direct,  unequivocal,  and  solemn  declarations  of  their 
own  abhorrence  of  such  evil  designs  and  of  the  divine 
vengeance  against  them.  Superstitious  arts  calculated 
to  impose  on  the  credulity  of  an  ignorant  multitude, 


526  THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE. 

such  as  astrology,  magic,  and  necromancy,  tliey  point- 
edly condemned ;  and  the  rich  presents  which  were 
offered  them,  they  rejected.  Their  predictions  of 
future  events  were  public,  clear,  impossible  to  be  mis- 
apprehended, and  such  as  no  human  foresight  could 
have  conjectured. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

You  scarcely  need  be  referred  to  instances  of 
what  has  now  been  advanced,  for  they  occur  so  fre- 
quently on  the  pages  of  the  Old  Testament,  that  one 
who  has  any  acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  will  be  at  no 
loss  to  verify  this  description  of  the  Biblical  prophets. 

You  will  at  once  remember  how  Elisha  repelled  the 
princely  offers  of  Naaman;  how  Isaiah  publicly  and 
severely  rebuked  the  idolatrous  Ahaz  ;  how  steadfastly 
Jeremiah  resisted  the  rebellious  designs  of  his  king  and 
nation,  though  their  reproaches  and  persecutions 
wounded  him  so  deeply  that  he  often  wished  for  death 
to  put  an  end  to  his  anguish.  In  the  whole  character 
of  the  Hebrew  prophets  we  see  a  frankness  which  dis- 
dained concealment,  and  a  virtue  which  abhorred  de- 
ception. 

In  further  ilhistration  of  what  has  been  advanced 
examine  2  Sam.  xii;  1  Kings  xviii.  10,  17,  18;  xxi. 
17-24. 

The  prophet  Nathan  did  not  hesitate  to  pourtray  in 
the  liveliest  colors  the  sin  which  had  been  committed 
by  his  sovereign  and  patron,  and  boldly  to  say  to  the 
guilty  monarch,  TIiok.  art  the  man. 

The  prophet  Elijah  knew  that  the  tyrant  Ahab  had 
long  been  searching  all  the  neighboring  states  to  ap- 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.       527 

prehend  and  put  him  to  deatli ;  but  he  fearlessly  stood 
before  him,  and  when  the  haughty  monarch  accosted 
him  with  the  question,  "Art  thou  he  that  troubleth 
Israel  ?  "  he  instantly  replied,  "  I  have  not  troubled 
Israel ;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house,  in  that  ye  have 
forsaken  the  commandments  of  the  Lord ;  and  thou 
hast  followed  Baalim." 

When  the  same  king  had  been  guilty  of  another 
act  of  the  most  flagrant  injustice  respecting  Naboth, 
the  same  prophet  went  to  him  with  the  appalling  mes- 
sage :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  In  the  place  where  dogs 
licked  the  blood  of  Naboth,  shall  dogs  lick  thy  blood, 
even  thine."  And  Ahab  said  to  Elijah,  "Hast  thou 
found  me,  0  mine  enemy?"  And  he  answered,  "I 
have  found  thee,  because  thou  hast  sold  thyself  to 
work  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord."  Where  in  the 
whole  compass  of  the  heathen  oracles  shall  we  find  a 
resistance  to  regal  tyranny,  a  defence  of  injured  and 
helpless  innocence,  to  be  compared  with  this  ? 

THE    CONTRAST. 

And  now  is  not  the  difference  between  the  Hebrew 
and  the  heathen  prophets  perfectly  obvious  ?  In  the 
one  case  we  see  all  the  machinery  of  fraud,  a  total  des- 
titution of  moral  feeling,  and  every  indication  of  an 
exclusive  attachment  to  this  world.  In  the  other  case 
we  can  discover  no  wish  and  no  opportunity  to 
deceive;  we  find  a  most  acute  moral  sensibility 
and  an  inflexible  adherence  to  what  is  right,  and  a 
total  renunciation  of  all  worldly  hopes,  whenever  they 
interfered  with  the  calls  of  duty.  The  former,  just 
what  we  should  expect  from  men  of  this  world,  who 


528  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

had  no  fliith  in  another ;  the  latter,  just  what  we  should 
expect  from  men  of  God,  who  had  placed  all  their 
hopes  in  heaven.  Who,  that  has  any  knowledge  of 
the  subject,  can  pretend  to  place  them  on  equal  ground, 
or  say  that  they  have  equal  claims  to  divine  inspiration  ? 
In  the  contrast,  the  interpreter  of  the  Greek  oracles, 
stands  abashed  before  the  Hebrew  prophet,  like  the 
witch  of  Endor  before  the  rising  spirit  of  Samuel. 

How  shall  we  account  for  it,  that  the  Hebrews,  who 
were  so  far  below  the  Greeks  in  learning,  refine- 
ment, and  power,  should  rise  so  far  above  them  in  the 
character  of  their  religious  teachers  ?  To  the  Hebrews 
were  sent  Jioly  men  of  God^  ivlio  spake  as  they  ivere 
moved  hy  the  Holy  Ghost}  while  the  Greeks,  seeking 
after  wisdom^  became  vain  in  their  imagination^  and 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened. 

Deficiency  in  religious  feeling,  and  not  the  want  of 
appropriate  and  sufficient  evidence,  is,  after  all,  the 
great  cause  of  scepticism  in  respect  to  the  inspii'ation 
of  the  Bible.  In  the  stillness  of  a  Sabbath  morning, 
when,  if  ever,  the  soul  loves  to  commune  with  heaven, 
let  the  devout  man  open  the  sacred  volume,  and  read  till 
his  heart  glows  with  something  of  the  fervor  of  the 
inspired  writers,  and  while  his  affections  are  flowing 
with  full  tide  towards  the  God  of  the  Hebrew  patri- 
archs and  prophets,  let  him  lay  aside  the  Bible,  and 
suddenly  turn  his  attention  to  any,  even  the  most  lofty 
flights  of  heathen  inspiration,  and  the  painful  revul- 
sion of  feeling  which  he  experiences,  shows  him  at  once 
that  he  has  changed  his  element,  that  he  has  fallen 
upon  another  world.  The  angels  who  were  sent  to 
warn  Lot  of  his  danger,  could  scarcely  have  found  a 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.       529 

greater  contrast  when  they  left  the  courts  of  heaven, 
to  tread  the  polluted  streets  of  Sodom.  The  devout 
man,  who  reads  the  prophetic  parts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, with  one  spark  of  the  feeling  with  which  they 
were  composed,  no  more  needs  a  philosophical  proof  of 
their  divine  origin,  than  Elijah  needed  a  metaphysical 
demonstration  of  the  existence  of  God,  while  ascend- 
ing to  heaven  in  his  fiery  chariot ;  and  I  suppose  no 
one  will  consider  it  a  breach  of  charity  to  say,  that  it 
is  not  by  devout  men,  generally,  that  the  divine  author- 
ity of  the  Old  Testament  is  called  in  question. 

FULFILLMENT    OF    PROPHECY. 

In  further  illustration  of  this  subject,  we  will  now 
notice  a  few  of  the  more  remarka])le  prophecies  of  the 
Bible,  which  with  their  fulfillment,  the  reader  is  re- 
quested to  compare  with  the  Greek  prophecies  intro- 
duced in  this  chapter. 

1.  Predictions  respecting  Cyrus,  Isaiah  xliv.,  xlv. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  the  birth 
of  Cyrus,  the  Hebrew  prophet  Isaiah  described  this 
monarch  by  name,*  and  intimated  (Isaiah  xlv.  4)  that 
this  was  his  surname^  and  not  the  name  given  him  at 
his  birth ;  accurately  foretold  the  victories  he  was  to 
achieve,  and  the  benefits  which  he  was  to  confer  upon 
the  Jewish  people,  by  delivering  them  from  the  Baby- 

*  Herodotus  informs  us  (B.  i.  c.  114)  that  Cyrus  was  not  the  orig- 
inal name  of  this  monarch,  but  one  which  he  assumed  at  a  later  peri- 
od, probably  on  his  accession  to  the  throne,  or  after  the  achievement 
of  some  of  his  great  victories.  In  the  Hebrew  the  name  is  written 
Koraesh,  and  in  the  Pehlvi  or  ancient  Persian,  Korshid,  which  means 
sun-glory,  or  splendor  like  that  of  the  sun.  (See  Jalin's  Heb.  Comi 
p.  148.) 

34 


530  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE     BIBLE. 

Ionian  captivity.  This  prophecy  was  published  nearly 
a  century  before  Nebuchadnezzar  subdued  Judea. 
Babylon  was  then  but  just  rising  into  notice  ;  the  very 
existence  of  the  empire  was  scarcely  known  to  the 
Hebrews;  Persia,  the  native  country  of  Cyrus,  was 
yet  in  the  darkness  of  barbarism ;  while  Judea  was  an 
old,  established  and  powerful  kingdom.  The  accom- 
phishment  of  this  prediction,  therefore,  would  appear 
to  the  politicians  of  that  age  as  improbable,  as  it  would 
now  appear  to  our  politicians,  if  they  were  told  that 
these  United  States  in  the  course  of  a  century  would 
fall  under  the  dominion  of  one  of  the  new  and  still 
tottering  republics  of  South  America,  and  would  finally 
be  delivered  from  their  bondage  by  a  powerful  mon- 
arch of  the  Pacific  Islands.  To  this  prophecy  Jeho- 
vah appeals  (as  has  been  already  observed),  as  an  in- 
stance of  foreknowledge  altogether  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  heathen  prophets,  and  a  triumphant  proof,  that 
he  alone  is  the  true  God,  and  his  proj)hets  the  only 
true  prophets. 

"Assemble  yourselves  (says  he)  and  corne,  draw 
near  together  ye  that  are  escaped  of  the  nations :  they 
have  no  knowledge  that  set  up  the  wood  of  their  graven 
image,  and  pray  unto  a  god  that  can  not  save.  Tell 
ye,  and  bring  them  near ;  yea,  let  them  take  counsel 
together,  who  hath  declared  this  from  ancient  time  ? 
have  not  I  the  Lord?  and  there  is  no  God  else  besides 
me ;  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour,  there  is  none  besides 
me.  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else." 
(Isaiah  xlv.  20,  21). 

.2.  Predictions  respecting  Babylon. 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.       531 

In  close  connection  with  the  preceding  are  the  pre- 
dictions of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  respecting  the  over- 
throw of  Babylon,  the  fulfillment  of  which  we  will 
now  consider.  Ot  these  predictions  that  of  Isaiah  was 
uttered  one  hundred  and  sixty  years,  and  that  of  Jere- 
miah fifty-six  years  before  the  event.  (Compare  Jer. 
1.,  li.)  The  historical  proof  on  this  subject  is  entirely 
conclusive,  and  will  be  exhibited  in  its  proper  place, 
when  we  come  to  the  discussion  of  the  authenticity  of 
the  prophetic  writings  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  It  can 
not  be  said,  therefore,  with  any  show  of  reason,  that 
these  prophecies  were  written  after  the  events. 

The  circumstantial  particularity  of  these  predictions, 
their  antecedent  improbabilities,  their  progressive  ac- 
complishment through  a  long  series  of  ages,  and  the 
great  variety  of  the  events  predicted,  render  it  equally 
impossible  to  account  for  these  prophecies  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  sagacious  and  happy  con- 
jectures. 

To  enable  the  reader  to  make  the  comparison  for 
himself,  I  will  exhibit  the  predictions  in  the  words  of 
the  prophets,  and  in  parallel  columns  the  account  of 
the  events  in  the  words  of  the  classic  historians,  relying 
principally  on  Herodotus  and  Xenophon.  The  first  of 
these  historians  lived  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
Isaiah  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  after  Jeremiah,  and 
the  latter  three  hundred  and  fifty  after  Isaiah  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  after  Jeremiah. 

Babylon  was  considered  impregnable.  Its  high  and 
strong  walls  surmounted  by  lofty  towers,  its  broad  and 
deep  ditches,  its  large  magazines,  and  the  numerous 
squares  within  the  city,  which  were  planted  with  com 


532 


THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 


and  yielded  an  annual  supply  of  provisions,  seemed 
sufficient  to  secure  the  inhabitants  forever  from  all  at- 
tacks of  their  enemies.  (Jahn's  Heb.  Com.  p.  152.) 

Some  of  the  more  remarkable  circumstances  of  its 
capture  and  subsequent  fate,  exhibiting  the  coincidence 
between  prophecy  and  history,  are  the  following : 

The  besieging  army  to  consist  of  varioiis  nations. 


PROPHECY. 

Go  up,  0  Elam,  besiege, 
0  Media  (Isaiah  xxi.  2). 

The  noise  of  a  multitude 
in  the  mountains,  like  as 
of  a  great  people ;  a  tumul- 
tuous noise  of  the  king- 
doms of  nations  gathered 
together :  the  Lord  of  hosts 
numbereth  the  host  of  the 
battle.  They  come  from  a 
far  country,  from  the  end 
of  heaven  (Isa.  xiii.  4,  5). 

Set  ye  up  a  standard  in 
the  land,  blow  the  trumpet 
among  the  nations,  prepare 
the  nations  against  her,  call 
together  against  her  the 
kingdom  of  Ararat,  Minni, 
and  Ashchenaz ;  appoint  a 
captain  against  her ;  cause 
the  horses  to  come  up  as 
the  rough  caterpillars. 

Prepare  against  her  the 


HISTORY. 

While  Cyrus  was  on  his 
march  to  Babylon,  we  find 
him  issuing  the  following 
orders  to  his  troops :  "  Let 
Artabazus  lead  the  Persian 
(Elam)shieldmen  and  arch- 
ers ;  after  these  let  Andra- 
mias  the  Mede,  lead  the 
Median  foot;  after  these, 
Embas,  the  Armenian  (Ara- 
rat) foot ;  After  these,  Ar- 
tuchas,  the  Hyrcanians ;  af- 
ter these,  Thambradas,  the 
Sacian  foot;  after  these, 
Damades,  the  Cadusians." 
"And  do  you  all  attend 
ready  on  the  road  to  Bab- 
ylon, each  of  you  with  all 
things  proper"  (Xenophon, 
Cyrop.  B.  v.  c.  iii.  38). 

While  the  army  lay  at 
Babylon,  there  are  men- 
tioned among  his  soldiers, 


BIBLE   PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.       533 

nations,  with  the  kings  of  in  addition  to  the  above, 

the   Medes,    the    captains  the    Phrygians,     Lydians, 

thereof  and  all  the  rulers  Arabians,  and  Cappadoci- 

thereof  (Jer.  li.  27,  28).  ans  (lb.  B.  vii.  c.  v.  15). 

The  Hebrew  name  Elam  corresponds  to  the  Greek 
Persia,  and  Ararat  and  Minni  to  Armenia  and  the  neigh- 
boring northern  countries ;  the  locality  of  Ashkenaz, 
is  less  certain. 

The  river  to  he  dried  up^  the  gates  to  he  left  open,  and 
the  city  taken  hy  surprise  during  a  night  of  revelry  and 
darkness. 

The  reader  should  recollect,  that  the  river  Euphrates 
passed  through  the  midst  of  Babylon ;  and  that  besides 
the  external  wall,  there  was  a  wall  on  each  side  of  the 
river,  and  the  only  entrance  to  the  city  from  the  river 
was  by  brazen  gates,  which  were  carefully  closed  every 
night.  The  river  here  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
width  and  more  than  twelve  feet  deep.  (Herodotus, 
B.  i.  c.  180,  181.) 

PROPHECY.  HISTORY. 

God  saith  to  the  deep,  Cyrus  placed  one  detach- 
Be  dry,  and  I  will  dry  up  ment  of  his  forces  where 
thy  rivers  (Isa.  xliv.  27).      the   river  first   enters  the 

A  drought  is  upon  her  city,  and  another  where 
waters  and  they  shall  be  it  leaves  it,  directing  them 
dried  up  (Jer.  1.  38).  to  enter  the   channel,  and 

I  will  dry  up  her  sea  and  attack  the  town,  wherever 
make  her  springs  dry  (Jer.  a  passage  could  be  effected, 
li.  36).  He  pierced  the  bank  and 

I  will  loose  the  loins  of  introduced  the  river  into 
kings  to  open  before  him   the  lake,  by  which  means 


534 


THE     BOOKS    OF     THE     BIBLE 


tiic  two-leaved  gates,  and 
the  gates  shall  not  be  shut 
(Isaiah  xlv.  1). 

In  their  heat  I  will 
make  their  feasts,  and  I 
will  make  them  drunken. 
And  I  will  make  drunk 
her  princes  and  her  wise 
men,  her  captains  and  her 
rulers  and  her  mighty 
men  (Jer.  li.  39,  57). 

The  night  of  my  plea- 
sure hath  he  turned  into 
fear  unto  me.  Prepare 
the  table,  watch  in  .^the 
watch-tower,  eat  drink : 
arise  ye  princes,  anoint 
the  shield  (Isa.  xxi.  4,  5). 

Therefore  shall  evil 
come  upon  thee,  thou  shalt 
not  know  from  whence  it 
ariseth;  and  mischief  shall 
fall  upon  thee,  thou  shalt 
not  be  able  to  put  it  off; 
and  desolation  shall  come 
upon  thee  suddenly,  which 
thou  shalt  not  know  (Isa. 
xlvii.  11). 

But  these  two  things 
shall  come  to  thee  in  a 
moment,  in  one  day,  the 
loss  of  children  and  wid- 


the  bed  of  the  Euphrates 
became  sufiiciently  shal- 
low for  the  object  in  view. 
The  Persians  in  their  sta- 
tion watched  the  proper 
opportunity,  and  when  the 
stream  had  so  far  retired 
as  not  to  be  higher  than 
their  thighs,  they  entered 
Babylon  without  difficulty. 
If  the  besieged  had  either 
been  aware  of  the  designs 
of  Cyrus,  or  had  discover- 
ed the  project  before  its 
actual  accomplishment, 
they  might  have  effected 
the  total  destruction  of 
these  troops.  They  had 
only  to  secure  the  little 
gates  which  led  to  the 
river,  and  to  have  manned 
the  embankments  on  either 
side,  and  they  might  have 
enclosed  the  Persians  in  a 
net  from  which  they  could 
never  have  escaped.  As 
it  happened  they  were 
taken  by  surprise.  It  was 
a  day  of  festivity  among 
them,  and  whilst  the  citi- 
zens were  engaged  in  danc- 
ing and  merriment,  Babylon 


BIBLE   PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL   ORACLES.        535 

owhood :  they  shall  come   was,  for  the  first  time,  thus 
upon  thee  in  their  perfect   taken!  (Herodotus,  i.  191). 
tion,  for  the  multitude  of 
thy  sorceries  and  for  the 
abundance    of    thine    en- 
chantments (Isa.  xlvii.  9). 

By  comparing  the  prophecy  with  the  history,  it  will 
appear  that  every  circumstance  known  to  the  historian 
after  the  event,  had  been  known  to  the  prophets  long 
before. 

I  will  here  subjoin  the  account  of  the  taking  of 
Babylon  as  given  by  Xenophon,  which  includes  some 
particulars  not  mentioned  by  Herodotus. 

Cyrus  "measuring  out  the  ground  around  the  wall, 
and  from  the  side  of  the  river, — he^dug  round  the  wall 
on  every  side  a  very  great  ditch.  When  he  heard  they 
were  celebrating  a  festival  in  Babylon,  in  which  all  the 
Babylonians  drank  and  revelled  the  whole  night ;  on 
that  occasion,  as  soon  as  it  grew  dark,  he  took  a  num- 
ber of  men  with  him,  and  opened  the  ditches  into  the 
river.  When  this  was  done,  the  water  ran  off  in  the 
night  by  the  ditches,  and  the  passage  of  the  river 
through  the  city  became  available."  "Then  making 
those  that  attended  his  person,  both  foot  and  horse,  to 
go  down  into  the  dry  part  of  the  river,  he  ordered 
them  to  try  whether  the  channel  of  the  river  was  pas- 
sable." They  reported  that  it  was.  Cyrus  then  ad- 
dressed his  troops,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "Do 
you  Gobryas  and  Gadatas*  show  us  the  ways,  for  you 

*  These  were  two  Assyrian  noblemen  who  had  gone  over  to  Cyrus 
on  account  of  the  cruelties  practised  upon  them  by  the  Babylonian 
king. 


536  THE   BOOKS   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

are  acquainted  with  them,  and  when  we  are  got  in, 
lead  us  the  readiest  way  to  the  palace.  It  may  be  no 
wonder,  perhaps,  said  they  that  were  with  Gobryas,  If 
the  gates  of  the  palace  are  open,  for  the  city  seems  to 
night  to  be  in  a  general  revel,  but  we  shall  meet  with 
a  guard  at  the  gates,  for  there  is  always  one  set  there." 
"When  this  was  said,  they  marched;  and  of  those 
that  they  met  with,  some  they  fell  on  and  killed,  some 
fled,  and  some  set  up  a  clamor.  They  that  were  with 
Gobryas,  set  up  a  clamor  with  them,  as  if  they  were 
revellers  themselves,  and  marching  on  the  shortest  way 
that  they  could,  they  got  round  about  the  palace." 
"As  soon  as  the  noise  and  clamor  began,  they  that 
were  within,  perceiving  the  disturbance,  and  the  king 
commanding  them.' to  examine  what  the  matter  was, 
ran  out,  throwing  open  the  gates.  They  that  were 
with  Gadatas,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  gates  loose, 
broke  in.  pressing  forward  on  the  runaways,  and  deal- 
ing their  blows  among  them,  they  came  up  to  the  king, 
and  found  him  now  in  a  standing  posture  with  his 
sword  drawn.  They  that  were  with  Gadatas  and  Go- 
bryas being  many  in  number,  mastered  him;  they 
likewise  that  were  with  him  were  killed."  "Gadatas 
and  Gobryas  then  came  up,  and  having  first  paid  their 
adoration  to  the  gods,  for  the  revenge  they  had  had 
on  their  impious  king,  they  then  kissed  the  hands  and 
feet  of  Cyrus,  shedding  many  tears  in  the  midst  of 
their  joy  and  satisfaction."  (Cyropaed.  B.  vii.  c.  5). 

The  death  of  the  king,  as  described  by  Xenophon, 
had  been  predicted  by  the  prophet  in  these  words : 

"But  thou  art  cast  out  of  thy  grave  as  an  abomina- 
ble branch,  and  as  the  raiment  of  those  that  are  slai 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND   CLASSICAL   ORACLES.        537 

thrust  through  with  the  sword,  that  go  down  to  the 
stones  of  the  pit ;  as  a  carcass  trodden  under  feet." 
(Isaiah  xiv.  19). 

The  joy  occasioned  by  his  death  was  predicted  with 
equal  clearness. 

"  The  whole  earth  is  at  rest,  and  is  quiet ;  they  break 
forth  into  singing.  Yea,  the  fir-trees  rejoice  at  thee, 
and  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  saying,  Since  thou  art  laid 
down,  no  feller  is  come  up  against  us."  (Isaiah  xiv. 
7,8). 

3.  TJie  'place  to  he  forever  uninhahited^  a  dwelling  of 
wild  beasts^  and  a  place  of  stagnant  waters. 

PROPHECY.  HISTORY. 

And  Babylon,  the  glory  "  The  Persians  aestroyt^  J 
of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  a  part  of  the  city,  time  and 
of  the  Chaldees' excellen-  the  negligence  of  the  Mace- 
cy,  shall  be  as  when  God  donians  destroyed  a  part." 
overthrew  Sodom  and  Go-  "It  is  now  almost  entirely 
morrah.  deserted,  so  that  we  may 

It  shall  never  be  inhab-  safely  say  of  it  what  a  cer- 
ited,  neither  shall  it  be  tain  poet  said  of  Megalo- 
dwelt  in  from  generation  polls,  the  great  city  of  Ar- 
to  generation  ;  neither  cadia:  the  great  city  is 
shall  the  Arabian  pitch  now  a  vast  solitude." 
tent  there ;  neither  shall  (Strabo,  B.  xvi). 
the  shepherds  make  their  Babylon,  once  the  great- 
fold  there.  est  of  all  cities  which  the 

sun  ever  looked  upon,  has 
now  nothing  left  but  the 
walls.  (Pausanias,  B.  viii. 
c.  33). 


538 


THE    BOOKS   OF    THE   BIBLE. 


But  wild  beasts  of  the 
desert  shall  lie  there ;  and 
their  houses  shall  be  full 
of  doleful  creatures  ;  and 
owls  shall  dwell  there,  and 
satyrs  shall  dance  there. 

And  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  island  shall  lay  in  their 
desolate  houses,  and  dra- 
gons in  their  pleasant 
palaces.   (Isa.  xiii.  20-22). 

And  Babylon  shall  be- 
come heaps,  a  dwelling- 
place  for  dragons,  an  as- 
tonishment and  a  hissing, 
without  an  inhabitant. 
They  shall  roar  together 
like  lions ;  they  shall  yell 
as  lions'  whelps.  (Jer.  li. 
37,  38). 


I  have  learned  from  a 
certain  Elamite  brother, 
who  came  from  those  parts 
and  now  lives  as  a  monk 
in  Jerusalem,  that  the 
royal  hunting  grounds  are 
in  Babylon ;  and  that  wild 
beasts  of  all  kinds  are  kept 
within  its  walls."  (Jerome 
Com.  in  Is.  c.  13). 

"  I  soon  distinguished 
that  the  causes  of  our 
alarm  were  two  or  three 
majestic  lions,  taking  the 
air  upon  the  heights  of  the 
pyramid."  "We  then  rode 
close  up  to  the  ruins;  and 
I  had  once  more  the  grat- 
ification of  ascending  the 
awful  sides  of  the  tower 
of  Babel.  In  my  progress 
I  stopped  several  times  to 
look  at  the  broad  prints  of 
the  feet  of  the  lions,  left 
plain  in  the  clayey  soil; 
and  by  the  track,  I  saw 
that  if  we  had  chosen  to 
rouse  such  royal  game,  we 
need  not  go  far  to  find 
their  lair.  But,  while  thus 
actually  contemplating 
these  savage  tenants,  wan- 


BIBLE    PROPHECIES   AND    CLASSICAL    ORACLES.        539 

dering  amidst  the  towers 
of  Babylon,  and  bedding 
themselves  within  the  deep 
cavities  of  her  once  mag- 
nificent temple,  I  could 
not  help  reflecting  on  how 
faithfully  the  various  pro- 
phecies had  been  fulfilled." 
(Sir  R.  K.  Porter). 

"The  tower  is  still  to  be 
seen  and  is  half  a  league 
in  diameter,  but  is  so  ruin- 
ous, so  low,  and  so  full  of 
venomous  creatures,  which 
lodge  in  holes  made  by 
them  in  the  rubbish,  that 
no  one  durst  approach 
^  nearer  to   it   than   within 

half  a  league,  except  dur- 
ing two  months  in  the  win- 
ter, when  these  animals 
never  stir  out  of  their 
holes."   (Rauwolf). 

"Not  only  great  part  of 
this  plain  is  little  better 
I  will  also  make  it  a  than  a  swamp,  but  large 
possession  for  the  bittern,  deposits  of  the  waters  are 
and  pools  of  water ;  and  left  stagnant  in  the  hol- 
I  will  sweep  it  with  the  lows  between  the  ruins; 
besom  of  destruction,  again  verifying  the  threat 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  denounced  against  it."  (Sir 
(Isaiah  xiv.  23).  R.  K.  Porter). 


540  '        THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Some  of  the  earliest  and  most  minute  of  the  proph- 
ecies are  in  a  course  of  literal  accomplishment  even 
at  the  present  day.  For  example,  the  remarkable 
predictions  of  Moses  respecting  the  Jewish  nation. 
(Deut.  xxviii). 

The  predictions  respecting  the  sufferings  and  death 
of  Christ  (Isaiah  lii.  13-liii.  12);  and  those  of  Christ 
respecting  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (Matthew 
xxiv.),  are  discussed  by  Dr.  Paley  with  his  usual  skill 
and  irresistible  power  of  demonstration  in  his  Evi- 
dences, (Part  ii.  chap.  1). 

It  would  carry  me  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  pre- 
sent work  to  go  into  an  extended  statement  of  the  ful- 
fillment of  scripture  prophecies.  Nor  is  it  necessary, 
for  my  only  object  in  this  chapter  has  been,  as  stated 
in  the  outset,  by  contrasting  the  Hebrew  with  the  hea- 
then prophets,  to  show  that  the  former,  and  they  only, 
have  just  claim  to  divine  inspiration.  The  specimens 
already  given  are,  I  suppose,  abundantly  sufficient  to 
accomplish  this  purpose. 

The  wonderful  discoveries  of  modern  times  on  the 
field  of  the  old  Bible  narrative,  by  Layard,  Rawlinson 
and  others,  which  so  marvellously  illustrate  and  con- 
firm the  Bible  history  and  the  Bible  prophecies,  will 
find  a  more  appropriate  place  in  the  volume  on  the 
Old  Testament.  My  object  is  here  to  show  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Bible  prophecies,  dark  and  mystical  as 
some  suppose  them  to  be,  to  the  best  oracles  of  the 
classical  nations. 


CHAPTER    FOURTEENTH. 

THE  APOCRYPHAL  BOOKS  OF   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT,  AND  THE 
REASONS  FOR  THEIR   EXCLUSION  FROM  THE   SACRED  CANON. 

As  the  volume  on  the  Old  Testament  will  necessarily 
be  somewhat  larger  than  the  volume  on  the  New,  for 
convenience  sake  I  here  insert  the  chapter  on  the  Old 
Testament  Apocrypha.  It  will  give  a  greater  com- 
pleteness to  the  present  volume ;  and  here  I  wish  also 
to  introduce  the  testimony  of  Church  Councils.  I  have 
generally  avoided  citing  such  testimony  on  the 
New  Testament ;  I  wished  to  show  that  we  can  fully 
make  out  our  case  for  the  New  Testament  books  with- 
out mentioning  church  councils  or  alluding  to  them  at 
all.  Their  testimony  is  important,  abundant  and 
conclusive,  but  we  do  not  depend  upon  it  exclusively, 
as  is  often  ignorantly  affirmed ;  we  can  even  dispense 
with  it  entirely  if  we  choose. 

L    THE  APOCRYPHAL  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

The  books  pertaining  to  the  Old  Testament  which 
the  Romish  church  holds  to  be  sacred  and  canonical, 
in  addition  to  the  original  Hebrew  canon,  are  the  fol- 
lowing: Tohit^  Judith^  Wisdom^  Siracli^  BarucJi^  Mac- 
cabees I.  and  11.^  additions  to  Daniel^  additions  to  Esther. 


542  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Besides  these,  there  are  generally  printed,  as  an  ap- 
pendix to  the  Vulgate,  the  Prayer  of  Manasseh,  and 
Esdras  III.  and  IV.  In  the  English  Apocrypha  these 
two  books  of  Esdras  are  designated  as  I.  and  11.  The 
reason  of  the  Vulgate  numeration  is,  that  the  canoni- 
cal Ezra  is  in  that  translation  called  Esdras  I.,  and 
the  canonical  Nehemiah,  Esdras  II.  In  this  it  differs 
from  the  Septuagint,  which-  retains  for  Nehemiah  the 
Hebrew  canonical  name. 

Before  the  time  of  the  council  of  Trent,  the  books 
above  mentioned  had  not  been  received  as  canonical 
by  the  Christian  churches;  most  of  them  had  been, 
positively  and  very  pointedly  condemned  by  some  one 
or  more  of  the  eminent  church  fathers ;  those  who  had 
received  them  to  be  read  in  churches  made  a  marked 
distinction  between  them  and  the  books  of  the  original 
Hebrew  canon,  assigning  to  them  a  much  lower  place : 
and  they  who  called  any  of  them  canonical,  generally 
assigned  the  most  trivial  and  unsatisfactory  reasons  for 
so  doing.  For  example,  Hilary  (Proleg.  in  Psalm.) 
mentions  that  the  Hebrews  had  twenty-two  canonical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  corresponding  to  the 
twenty-two  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet;  but  as 
the  Greeks  have  twenty-four  letters  in  their  alphabet, 
they  ought  to  have  twenty-four  books  in  their  Old 
Testament  canon  ;  and  he,  therefore,  in  order  to  make 
out  the  number  twenty-four,  would  add  to  the  Hebrew 
canon  the  books  of  Tobit  and  Judith,  for  the  Greek 
Bible.  According  to  this  principle,  the  Old  Testament 
for  the  Arabs,  Ethiopians,  Cherokees,  and  many  other 
nations,  ought  to  be  enlarged  by  a  number  of  books 
greater  than  all  the  apocryphal  writings,  numerous  as 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS   OF   THE    OLD    TEST.    543 

they  are,  would  be  able  to  supply.  Augustin,  thougli 
the  greatest  man  of  his  time  intellectually,  was  a  very 
poor  critical  scholar.  He  was  disposed  to  receive  all 
the  books  usually  included  in  the  Septuagint  as  canon- 
ical, because  he  ignorantly  supposed  that  the  Septua- 
gint as  a  whole  had  the  sanction  of  the  apostles,  {c[iiae 
etiam  ah  Apostolis  approbata^  which  also  was  approved 
by  the  apostles.)  Epist.  32.  ad  Hieron.  n.  35.  Yet, 
though  he  called  all  the  Septuagint  books  canon- 
ical, he  made  a  marked  distinction  among  them  in 
respect  to  their  authority.  He  says:  In  canonicis 
Scripturis  ecclesiarum  catJioUcarum  quamplurmm  auc 
toritatem  sequatur^  ut  eas,  quae  ah  omnihus  accipiuntur 
ecclesiis  catholicis,  praeponat  eas,  quas  quaedam  non 
accipiunt  In  eis  vero^  quae  non  accipiuntur  ah  omni- 
bus^ praeponat  eas,  quae  plures  gravioresque  accipiunt 
(In  the  canonical  Scriptures  he  follows  for  the  most 
part  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  churches,  so  that 
those  which  are  received  by  all  the  Catholic  churches 
he  places  before  those  which  some  do  not  receive. 
But  in  reference  to  those  which  are  not  received  by 
all,  he  prefers  those  which  the  greater  number 
and  the  more  important  churches  receive.)  Doctr. 
Christ,  ii.  3.  Here  is  license  enough  for  the  most  lili- 
eral  Protestant ;  and  it  is  by  such  statements  as  these 
that  Jahn  and  other  enlightened  Roman  Catholic  schol- 
ars endeavored  to  vindicate  the  Council  of  Trent  for 
their  decree  respecting  the  canon,  on  the  ground  that 
there  was  an  understood  and  admitted  distinction 
among  the  sacred  books  between  the  deutero-canonical 
and  the  proto-canonical.  If  Augustin  and  some  other 
fathers  made  such  a  distinction,  it  is  clear  enough  that 
the  Council  of  Trent  did  not. 


544  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

Jerome  was  greatly  superior  to  Augustin  in  scholar- 
ship, so  far  as  a  critical  knowledge  of  languages  and 
books  is  concerned,  though  greatly  inferior  in  almost 
all  other  respects.  Jerome  kneic  that  the  apocryphal 
books  had  no  claim  to  canonical  authority,  and  he  said 
so  very  plainly,  and  when  exasperated  by  opposition, 
very  bitterly.  He  in  one  place  declares :  Sapientia^ 
quae  vulgo  Salomonis  mscrtbitur,  et  Jesu  Sirach  liber, 
et  Judith^  et  Tobias  et  Pastor  non  sunt  in  canone.  (Wis- 
dom which  is  commonly  inscribed  Solomon's,  the  book 
of  Jesus  Sirach,  and  Judith,  and  Tobias  and  Pastor  are 
not  in  the  canon.)  In  another  place  he  says  of  these 
books  very  sharply :  Apocrypliorum  naenias  mortuis, 
magis  haereticis  quam  ecclesiasticis  vivis  canendas.  (The 
songs  of  the  Apocrypha  ought  to  be  sung  by  dead 
heretics  rather  than  by  living  ecclesiastics.)  Proleg. 
Gal.  et  Prol.  in  Com.  Matt.  Augustin  was  at  vari- 
ance with  Jerome,  as  the  theologian  is  apt  to  be  at 
variance  with  the  scholar.  He  strongly  condemned 
Jerome's  Latin  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  be- 
cause it  varied  so  much  from  the  Septuagint ;  though 
it  departed  from  the  Septuagint  only  by  coming  nearer 
to  the  divine  original  in  the  Hebrew ;  but  Augustin 
was  not  scholar  enough  to  know  or  appreciate  a  fact 
of  this  kind.  (Compare  Marheinecke's  Symbolik, 
Band  ii.  S.  224,  ff.  first  edition,  1810.) 

This  is  a  subject  of  deep  interest  at  the  present  time. 
Romanists  among  us  are  continually  objecting  to  our 
Bible,  calling  it  a  mutilated  Bible,  and  furiously  resist- 
ing, wherever  they  can,  its  introduction  into  schools 
and  families.  In  the  following  pages,  we  shall  give  a 
review  of  the  debates  and  decisions  on  this  subject  in 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      545 

the  Council  of  Trent,  that  the  reader  may  see  on  what 
very  shallow  and  insufficient  grounds  that  decision  was 
made  on  which  so  much  was  depending ;  and  then  we 
shall  show  the  grounds  on  which  we  pronounce  that 
decision  to  be  totally  wrong,  by  exhibiting  in  full  the 
reasons  why  the  books  in  question  ought  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  canon  of  Scripture.  The  following 
is  a  summary  of  the  points  which  will  be  stated  and 
proved  in  the  ensuing  discussion : 

(1.)  These  books  never  had  the  sanction  of  Christ 
or  his  apostles,  or  any  of  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament. 

(2.)  They  formed  no  part  of  the  original  Hebrew 
canon,  and  were  not  written  till  after  the  Old  Testament 
inspiration  had  ceased  and  the  canon  was  closed. 

(3.)  They  were  rejected  with  singular  unanimity 
by  the  early  Christian  churches  and  by  the  best  of  the 
church  fathers. 

(4.)  The  books  themselves,  examined  individually, 
can  be  proved,  each  one  by  itself^  to  be  unworthy  of 
a  place  in  the  canon  of  Scripture. 

Under  this  last  head  we  shall  give,  in  regard  to  each 
book :  (a)  a  description  of  the  book ;  (b)  we  shall 
examine  its  internal  evidence  in  regard  to  its  having 
a  place  in  the  canon,  and  (c)  state  the  external  testi- 
mony in  respect  to  it. 

n.    DEBATES  AND  DECISIONS  IN  THE  COUNCIL  OF  TRENT. 

The  Council  of  Trent  for  its  fourth  session,  which 
was  held  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1546,  collected  sev- 
eral propositions  respecting  the  Scriptures  from  the 
writings  of  Luther,  which  they  alleged  to  be  erroneous. 
35 


546  ■     THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

These  propositions  were  earnestly  discussed  in  the 
several  congregations  which  preceded  the  session  ;  as 
was  also  the  question,  whether  canons  with  anathemas 
annexed,  in  the  usual  manner,  should  be  issued  against 
these  errors.  Two  of  the  alleged  errors  were  these : 
(a)  That  no  books  ought  to  be  received  into  the  canon 
of  the  Old  Testament  except  those  which  were  found 
in  the  original  Hebrew  canon,  and  (b)  That  the  orig- 
inal text,  the  Hebrew  for  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
Greek  for  the  New,  is  the  only  ultimate  appeal  as  the 
pure  word  of  God,  and  that  the  Latin  Vulgate,  used  in 
the  churches,  abounds  in  erroneous  translations.  We 
give  not  the  words  but  only  the  substance,  because  it 
is  only  with  these  two  points  that  we  are  concerned  in 
the  present  discussion ;  and  it  would  lead  us  too  far 
out  of  our  track  to  follow  the  exact  order  and  method 
of  the  treatment  of  the  several  topics  in  the  council. 
We  propose  to  give,  and  that  too  irj;  a  very  con- 
densed form,  only  what  pertains  to  the  Old  Testament 
canon, ''and  the  authority  of  the  Latin  Vulgate  as  com- 
pared with  the  original  Text. 

In  regard  to  the  canon,  they  were  generally  agreed, 
that  a  catalogue  of  the  sacred  books  should  be  made 
out,  after  the  example  of  the  ancients ;  and  that  all  the 
books  usually  read  in  the  Roman  churches  should  be 
admitted  into  it,  and  that  the  Old  Testament  canon 
should  not  be  limited  to  those  books  only  which  were 
received  by  the  Hebrews.  The  catalogues  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Laodicea,  of  Pope  Lmocent  L,  of  the  third  Coun- 
cil of  Carthage,  and  of  Pope  Gclasius,  were  proposed 
as  models.  As  to  the  form  of  the  catalogue  there 
were  four  opinions :  (L)  Some  proposed  that  the  books 


APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TEST.     547 

should  be  separated  into  two  divisions,  the  first  of  which 
should  consist  of  those  only  which  had  always  and 
without  dispute  been  regarded  as  canonical,  the 
dfwioyovfiipiav  of  Euscbius ;  and  the  second,  of  those 
which  had  been  by  some  rejected,  and  in  regard  to 
which  there  was  more  or  less  of  doubt,  the  &PTdeyo/iiipwp. 
(Compare  Euseb.  Hist  Eccl.  iii.  25.)  They  argued 
that,  though  this  distinction  had  not  been  formally  and 
expressly  recognized  by  any  pope  or  council,  yet  it 
had  been  in  fact  tacitly  and  universally  acknowledged ; 
that  Augustin  makes  this  distinction,  and  that  it  is  re- 
ceived, and  the  authority  of,  Augustin  in  respect  to  it 
confirmed,  by  the  canon  in  canonicis.  Gregory,  also, 
who  lived  after  Gelasius,  declares,  in  his  Exposition  of 
Job,  that  the  books  of  Maccabees  were  written  for  edi- 
fication and  adapted  to  it,  but  yet  they  were  not  ca- 
nonical. 

Aloysius  of  Catanea,  a  Dominican  Friar,  affirmed 
that  this  distinction  was  made  by  Jerome,  and  that  the 
church  had  accepted  it  as  the  rule  and  standard  for 
establishing  the  canon  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He 
also  quoted  Cardinal  Cajetan,  who,  following  Jerome, 
had  made  the  same  distinction,  and  in  the  dedication 
to  Clement  VII.  of  his  treatise  on  the  historical  books 
of  the  Old  Testament,  had  declared  it  to  be  a  settled 
principle  of  the  church. 

(2.)  A  second  proposition  was,  that  the  books  should 
be  arranged,  not  in  two,  but  three  divisions,  the  first 
to  consist  of  those  which  had  always  and  without  con- 
tradiction been  received  as  divine ;  the  second,  those 
which  had  sometimes  been  doubted,  but  whose  canon- 
ical authority  had  at  length  been  confirmed  by  the 


548  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

usage  of  the  church,  to  which  class  belong  certain 
epistles  and  the  apocalypse  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  some  few  passages  in  the  evangelists;  and  the 
third  division  should  consist  of  those  books  which  had 
never  been  esteemed  canonical,  to  which  class  belong 
the  seven  apocryphal  books  of  the  Old  Testament^  and 
the  passages  of  Daniel  and  Esther  ivhich  are  not  found 
in  the  Hebrew  text. 

(3.)  The  third  opinion  was  that  there  should  be  no 
distinction  made  among  the  books,  but  after  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Council  of  Carthage  and  other  synods, 
they  should  merely  make  out  the  catalogue  and  offer 
no  remarks  upon  it. 

(4. )  The  fourth  proposal  was  this  :  that  all  the  books 
in  all  their  parts,  just  as  they  stand  in  the  Latin  Bible, 
should  be  declared  equally  of  divine  authority.  The 
book  of  Baruch  here  made  no  little  difiiculty,  for  this 
book  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  catalogues  of  the 
Laodicean  or  the  Carthaginian  councils,  nor  yet  in 
those  made  by  the  Roman  pontiffs ;  and  therefore  it 
ought  to  be  excluded,  both  for  this  reason  and  because 
the  beginning  of  the  book  is  wanting.  Yet,  because 
some  lessons  in  the  church  books  were  taken  from  it, 
the  members  of  the  council  could  not  be  persuaded  to 
relinquish  its  canonical  authority ;  and  they  therefore 
resolved  that  it  must  have  been  regarded  by  the  an^ 
cients  as  a  part  of  the  book  of  Jeremiah,  and  received 
into  the  canon  under  the  name  of  that  prophet.  Thus 
their  opinion  of  what  the  fact  ought  to  have  been,  de- 
termined them  to  assume  the  fact  itself,  without  evi- 
dence. A  summary  and  convenient  mode  of  proceed- 
ing, which  has  often  been  followed,  both  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  other  assemblies. 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS   OF    THE    OLD    TEST.    549 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1546,  there  was  held  an 
extraordinary  congregation,  in  which  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved,  that  church  tradition  should  be  held 
of  equal  authority  with  the  written  word  of  God. 
With  respect  to  the  form  in  which  they  should  put 
forth  their  catalogue  of  the  canonical  Scriptures,  the 
theologians  still  entertained  various  opinions.  One 
was,  that  the  individual  books  need  not  be  mentioned 
by  name ;  another,  that  the  books  ought  to  be  divided 
into  three  classes ;  and  a  third,  that  all  the  books  of 
the  Latin  Bible  should  be  placed  in  one  rank  as  of 
equal  authority.  In  this  diversity  of  opinions  it  was 
agreed,  that  catalogues  should  be  made  out  according 
to  the  three  different  proposals,  and  laid  before  the 
next  congregation  for  examination  ;  and  then  it  should 
be  decided  which  of  the  three  should  be  adopted. 

In  the  congregation  of  the  fifteenth  of  March, 
the  three  catalogues  were  actually  presented;  each 
had  its  advocates ;  but  the  third  was  the  one  which 
triumphed.  In  the  subsequent  congregations,  the  au- 
thority of  the  Latin  translation  was  discussed;  and 
here  arose  a  hot  conflict  between  the  few  who  had 
some  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language  and  a  good 
understanding  of  the  Latin,  and  the  many  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  one  and  but  little  of  the  other.  The 
Dominican  Aloysius  of  Catanea  here  again  made  him- 
self heard.  He  remarked,  that  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter, nothing  could  be  better  in  itself  or  more  wisely 
adapted  to  the  times  than  the  principle  asserted  by 
Cardinal  Cajetan,  that  justly  celebrated  divine,  who 
from  his  early  youth  had  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  theology,  and  with  a  happy  talent  and  unwearied 


550  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

diligence,  which  had  made  him  the  most  distinguished 
in  this  branch  of  science  of  any  one  for  many  centu- 
ries ;  insomuch  that  there  was  not  a  prelate  or  doctor 
in  the  whole  council  who  need  be  ashamed  to  confess 
himself  his  inferior  and  pupil  in  point  of  learning. 
This  great  prelate,  when  he  went  to  Germany  in  1523, 
to  hold  his  conference  with  Luther,  being  led  to  study 
earnestly  the  best  means  of  reuniting  the  dismembered 
church  and  bringing  the  heretics  to  a  confession  of 
their  errors,  concluded  that  the  only  effective  method 
must  be  a  critical  understanding  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures in  their  original  languages.  Accordingly,  dur- 
ing all  the  rest  of  his  life,  full  eleven  years,  he  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
wrote  his  expositions  upon  them,  not  according  to  the 
Latin  translation,  but  according  to  the  original  text, 
the  Hebrew  for  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Greek  for 
the  New ;  and,  forasmuch  as  he  was  not  himself  skilled 
in  these  tongues,  he  employed  men  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  them  to  translate  for  him  literally,  word 
for  word,  as  is  abundantly  manifest  from  his  works  on 
the  sacred  books.  This  excellent  cardinal  was  wont 
to  say,  that  to  understand  the  Latin  text  was  not  nec- 
essary to  understand  the  word  of  God ;  the  word  of 
God  is  infallible,  but  the  Latin  traslators  may  have 
made  mistakes.  On  this  account,  also,  Jerome  justly 
said,  that  to  prophesy  and  write  holy  books  is  the  gift 
of  God's  Spirit ;  but  to  translate  these  books  from  one 
language  to  another  is  matter  of  human  skill.  In 
reference  to  these  words,  Cajetan  often  said  with  a 
sigh ;  "  Oh  that  the  teachers  of  former  times  had  been 
of  this  opinion,  and  then  the  Lutheran  heresy  would 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTA3IENT       551 

not  have  arisen."  Cataneus  further  declared,  that  the 
Latin  translation  could  not  be  received  as  authoritative 
without  violating  the  canon  Ut  Veterum,  etc.,  disf.  9, 
where  it  is  asserted  that  the  truth  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  to  be  sought  in  the  Hebrew  text,  and  that  of 
the  New  in  the  Greek.  To  declare  the  one  translation 
authentic,  would  be  to  condemn  Jerome  and  all  the 
others ;  for  as  these  cannot  be  authentic,  no  further 
use  can  be  made  of  them.  A  miserable  business  it 
would  be,  in  a  conflict  with  opponents,  to  select  a  text 
doubtful  and  not  generally  acknowledged,  when  one 
is  in  possession  of  the  genuine  and  infallible  text, 
which  ensures  a  certain  victory.  With  Jerome  and 
Cajetan  we  must  consider  it  certain  that  there  is  no 
translator,  whatever  care  he  may  exercise,  who  may 
not  sometimes  fall  into  a  mistake.  If  the  holy  council 
itself  would  undertake  a  translation,  and  examine  and 
improve  it  by  the  original  text,  then  it  might  not 
be  doubted  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  guides  all 
church  councils  in  matters  of  faith,  would  so  aid  the 
fathers  of  the  synod,  that  no  error  would  be  commit- 
ted. A  translation  examined  and  established  in  this 
manner  might  safely  be  deemed  authentic  ;  but  with- 
out such  an  investigation  the  synod  ought  not  to  ven- 
ture to  approve  a  translation  or  assure  itself  of  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  council  of  the  apostles 
themselves  there  was  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
matters  before  them  previous  to  a  decision.  But  as 
such  an  investigation  in  this  matter  would  require  a 
ten  years'  labor,  he  thought  it  best  that  the  affair 
should  be  left  as  it  ha.d  been  for  fifteen  hundred  years 
past. 


552  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

The  greater  part  of  tlie  theologians  were  opposed 
to  these  views.  They  argued  that  the  translation  which 
had  so  long-  been  received  and  used  in  the  churches 
and  the  schools,  must  of  necessity  be  declared  authen- 
tic ;  otherwise,  the  Lutherans  had  already  gained  their 
point  and  the  door  was  thrown  open  to  endless  here- 
sies and  unappeasable  disturbances.  The  popes  and 
the  scholastic  theologians  had  for  the  most  part  found- 
ed the  doctrines  of  the  Romish  church,  which  was  the 
mother  of  all  churches,  on  certain  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  now,  if  there  were  granted  to  every  one  the 
right  to  call  in  question  the  translation,  whether  it 
were  correct  or  not,  whether  this  were  done  by  com- 
paring it  with  other  translations  or  with  the  original 
Hebrew  and  Greek  text,  then  the  linguists  and  gram- 
marians might  bring  all  into  confusion  and  set  up  them- 
selves as  umpires  in  matters  of  faith ;  and  they  would 
be  the  doctors  of  theology  and  of  the  canon  law,  and 
they  would  have  the  dignity  of  bishops  and  cardinals ; 
and  the  inquisitors,  if  they  were  not  skilled  in  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  could  no  more  proceed  against  the  Luther- 
ans, but  they  would  cry  out,  "it  is  not  so  in  the  origi- 
nal," "the  translation  is  false,"  and  in  this  manner 
every  school-fox  may  put  forth  his  novelties  and  the 
abortions  of  his  own  brain,  conceived  in  wickedness 
or  ignorance,  as  the  true  doctrines,  and  never  be  at  a 
loss,  by  some  grammatical  trick,  to  find  a  text  to  justi- 
fy them ;  and  thus  there  would  never  be  an  end.  Every 
body  knows  that  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible  has 
brought  after  it  numberless  and  contradictory  heresies, 
worthy  of  being  condemned  to  eternal  darkness ;  and 
that  Luther  himself  is  continually  changing  his  own 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS   OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      553 

translation,  and  never  publishes  a  new  edition  without 
altering  at  least  a  hundred  passages.    Were  such  liber- 
ty allowed  to  all  who  might  choose  to  make  use  of  it 
the  time  would  soon  come  when  a  Christian  would  no 
longer  know  what  to  believe. 

These  views  were  by  the  majority  received  with  ap- 
probation, and  it  was  furthermore  argued  that  God  had 
given  to  the  Hebrew  church  an  authentic  Scripture, 
and  to  the  Greek  an  authentic  New  Testament ;  and 
who  could  affirm,  without  offence,  that  the  Roman 
church,  more  beloved  of  God  than  all  the  rest,  should 
be  left  without  so  great  a  benefaction  ?  Surely  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that  the  same  Holy  Ghost  which 
first  gave  these  holy  books,  had  also  directed  to  the 
translation  received  by  the  Roman  church. 

To  others  it  seemed  going  too  far  to  consider  a  man 
a  prophet  and  apostle  because  he  was  the  translator  of 
a  book ;  and  they  modified  their  idea  by  saying  that 
the  translators  had  not  the  prophetic  and  apostolic 
spirit,  but  doubtless  one  very  nearly  related  to  it.  And 
should  any  one  hesitate  to  attribute  to  them  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  must  at  least  allow  these 
influences  to  the  council;  and  if,  therefore,  the  council 
should  confirm  the  Vulgate  and  pronounce  an  anathema 
against  those  who  dared  question  its  authority,  then 
it  must  be  received  as  infallible,  if  not  through  the 
Spirit  which  guided  the  translation,  yet  at  least  by 
the  Spirit  given  to  the  council  which  had  declared  it 
authentic. 

Isidor  Clarus,  a  Benedictine  abbot,  and  a  scholar 
well-read  in  these  studies,  ventured,  in  the  way  of  a 
historical  review,   to   controvert  these   opinions,    and 


554  THE    BOOKS   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

said,  that  in  the  most  ancient  church  there  were  sev- 
eral Greek  translations  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
were  collected  by  Origen  into  one  book  and  arranged 
side  by  side  in  six  columns.  The  principal  of  these 
was  the  Septuagint,  from  which  many  Latin  transla- 
tions had  been  made ;  and  the  New  Testament  also 
had  been  many  times  translated  from  the  Greek  into 
the  Latin.  Of  these  translations  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  the  so-called  Itala  found  the  most  favor ; 
and  this  was  generally  read  in  the  churches,  and  was 
preferred  to  all  the  others  by  Augustin ;  still  it  was 
always  held  subordinate  to  the  Greek  text.  When 
that  great  linguist,  Jerome,  became  aware  that  the 
version  of  the  Old  Testament,  partly  through  the  fault 
of  the  Greek  translators,  and  partly  through  that  of 
the  Latin,  was  in  many  places  defective,  he  resolved 
to  make  a  new  translation  immediately  from  the  He- 
brew, and  to  improve  the  version  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment by  a  careful  collation  of  the  original  Greek.  The 
celebrity  of  his  name  induced  many  to  receive  his 
translations,  but  many  rejected  them,  partly  from  at- 
tachment to  the  old  and  suspicion  of  the  new,  and 
partly,  as  Jerome  himself  affirms,  out  of  envy.  But 
after  time  had  abated  the  bitterness  of  the  envy,  the 
translations  of  Jerome  were  received  by  the  Latins 
very  generally,  and  were  used  together  with  the  Itala^ 
the  latter  being  designated  as  the  old^  the  former  as 
the  new.  Gregory  gives  testimony  to  this  effect,  for 
in  his  work  on  Job  he  writes  to  Leander,  that  the 
apostolic  See  received  both  translations,  that  in  his 
exposition  of  Job  he  had  used  the  new  because  it 
came  nearest  to  the  Hebrew  text,  yet  in  his  citations 


ArOCRYPHAL    BOOKS    OF  THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.       555 

he  had  sometimes  used  the  one  and  sometimes  the 
other,  just  as  was  most  convenient  for  the  purpose  in 
hand.  Thus  theologians  wavering  between  the  two, 
and  using  sometimes  one  and  then  the  other,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  they  at  length  combined  both 
into  one  and  gave  to  this  the  name  of  Vulgate.  The 
Psalms,  continued  Clarus,  were  retained  entire  in  the 
old  translation,  because  they,  being  daily  sung  in  the 
churches,  could  not  well  be  altered.  The  minor  pro- 
phets were  all  in  the  new  translation  ;  the  major  pro- 
phets were  in  a  translation  made  up  of  the  two.  No 
one  can  doubt  that  all  this  was  done  in  accordance 
with  the  Divine  will,  without  which  nothing  can  take 
place;  yet  no  one  can  say  that  the  human  will  was 
not  equally  concerned  in  it.  Jerome  himself  had  free- 
ly taught  that  no  translator  is  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  since  the  Latin  Bible  which  we  use  is 
mostly  in  the  translation  of  Jerome,  it  seems  extrava- 
gant to  attribute  to  him  the  special  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  when  he  himself  expressly  disclaims  it. 
No  translation,  therefore,  ought  to  be  esteemed  of 
equal  authority  with  the  original  text.  For  these  rea- 
sons, therefore,  he  would  advise  that  the  Vulgate 
should  have  the  preference  over  all  other  editions; 
that  it  should  be  revised  and  corrected  by  the  original 
text,  and  then  declared  to  be  authentic.  If  this  were 
done,  the  other  old  translations  would  speedily  go  out 
of  use,  and  new  ones  might  be  prohibited  by  a  severe 
edict.  Thus  all  the  evils  which  arise  from  new  trans- 
lations, and  which  had  been  so  ably  set  forth  in  the 
preceding  congregations,  would  in  a  short  time  pass 
away. 


556  THE    BOOKS   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Andrew  de  Vega,  a  Franciscan  friar,  would  mediate 
between  the  two  extremes.  He  would  allow,  with 
Jerome,  that  the  translator  has  no  prophetic  inspiration, 
nor  any  gift  of  the  Spirit  which  renders  him  infallible ; 
and  he  would  allow,  with  Jerome  and  Augustin,  that 
the  translations  should  be  examined  and  corrected  by 
the  original  text ;  yet  he  would  add,  that  these  admis- 
sions and  views  need  not  hinder  the  church  from  de- 
claring the  Vulgate  to  be  authentic.  Such  a  declara- 
tion would  imply  only  that  the  translation  contains  no 
material  error  in  respect  to  faith  and  practice,  but  not, 
that,  in  all  its  expressions  and  in  every  shade  of  mean- 
ing, it  is  equal  to  the  original.  No  translation  can 
reach  to  such  a  degree  of  accuracy,  but  must  some- 
times enlarge  and  sometimes  limit  the  signification  of 
particular  words,  and  must  sometimes  avail  itself  of 
metaphors  and  other  figures  of  speech  not  identical 
with  those  in  the  original.  The  Vulgate  had  been  in 
use  in  the  church  for  a  thousand  years  and  upwards, 
and  in  this  time  they  had  become  certain  that  it  con- 
tains no  material  error  in  respect  to  faith  or  practice. 
The  ancient  councils  had  recognized  this  translation  as 
a  sufficient  one,  and  it  ought  now  to  be  valued  accord- 
ing to  its  worth  thus  indicated ;  and  it  ought  to  be 
declared  authentic  in  this  sense,  that  every  one  might 
rely  on  its  correctness  without  hazarding  his  salvation. 
Learned  men  ought  not  to  be  withheld,  by  any  prohi- 
bition, from  applying  themselves  to  the  study  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  text ;  but  the  new  and  faulty  trans- 
lations, which  bring  confusion  into  the  church,  ought 
to  be  restrained. 

The  many  difficulties    urged  did    not  hinder    the 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS   OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT,      557 

fathers  from  declaring,  by  almost  general  consent,  the 
Vulgate  translation  to  be  the  authentic  Bible  of  the 
church.  Some  were  so  moved  by  the  arguments  of 
the  theologians,  that  they  wished  the  subject  might  be 
passed  over  for  the  present ;  but  the  majority  were 
against  it.  Still,  the  proposal  was  made,  and  it  was  at 
length  resolved,  that  the  Vulgate,  now  declared  to  be 
authentic,  should  be  carefully  examined  and  corrected, 
and  a  copy  made  out  according  to  which  all  others 
should  be  printed.  Six  men  were  selected  for  this 
labor,  and  they  were  required  to  engage  in  it  with  all 
diligence  that  the  work  might  be  published  before  the 
close  of  the  council.  They  reserved  to  themselves  the 
power  of  adding  to  this  committee,  if,  in  the  course 
of  their  sessions,  men  should  be  found  suited  to  such 
an  undertaking. 

Thus  the  Vulgate  was  received  as  the  authentic  text, 
and  the  apocryphal  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  be- 
ing a  part  of  it,  were  received  with  it  as  canonical, 
not  because  there  was  any  argument  in  favor  of  the 
infallibility  of  the  text  or  any  proof  of  the  canonical 
authority  of  these  books,  for  all  the  argument  and  all 
the  proof  was  directly  the  other  way ;  but  simply  be- 
cause the  state  of  things  was  such,  that  to  seem  to 
question  the  entire  accuracy  of  the  text  or  the  canon 
of  the  Vulgate,  would  occasion  great  inconvenience 
and  trouble  to  the  dominant  party  in  the  Romish 
church,  and  put  them  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  their 
controversy  with  the  Protestants.  Grammarians  and 
linguists  must  not  presume  to  know  more  than  bishops 
and  cardinals;  well-settled  ecclesiastics  must  not  be 
put  to  the  trouble  of  learning  Hebrew  and  Greek ;  the 


658  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

cliiircli  of  the  past  must  not  in  any  respect  be  put  in 
the  wrong,  nor  must  the  common  people  be  allowed 
to  lessen  their  confidence  in  the  teachers  set  over  them 
in  regular  succession  from  the  apostles.  Whatever 
might  be  required  by  truth  and  Christian  integrity, 
these  things  were  by  no  means  to  be  allowed. 

There  were  strong  men  in  that  council,  well-read 
and  intelligent  men,  who  saw  the  thing  as  it  was,  and 
labored  to  set  it  right ;  but  their  voice  was  lost  in  the 
clamor  of  the  multitude,  and  truth  and  right  availed 
little  against  the  pressure  of  an  immediate  and  urgent 
self  interest.  We  are  sorry  to  say,  that  the  Council  of 
Trent  is  not  the  only  deliberative  body  which  has  been 
swayed  in  a  similar  manner  ;  but  that  there  have  been 
abundant  examples  of  the  same  kind  from  that  day  to 
this,  both  in  ecclesiastical  and  political  assemblies,  and 
among  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics. 

In  regard  to  the  sense  of  Scripture,  the  well-known 
views  of  Cardinal  Cajetan  occasioned  no  little  discus- 
sion. This  prelate  had  taught,  both  by  precept  and 
example,  that  a  new  interpretation  of  any  passage,  if 
it  be  in  accordance  with  the  text  and  not  opposed  to 
other  Scriptures,  may  be  received,  although  the  major- 
ity of  the  doctors  are  against  it ;  for  God  did  not  grant 
the  knowledge  of  Scripture  to  the  ancients  alone,  oth- 
erwise there  would  be  nothing  left  for  posterity  or  the 
present  generation  to  do  but  just  to  copy  the  fathers. 
Some  strongly  advocated  these  sentiments  of  Cajetan 
and  others  opposed  them ;  and,  after  a  warm  discus- 
sion on  both  sides,  Cardinal  Pacheco  arose  and  said, 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  had  already  been  iso  well  ex- 
plained by  so  many  pious  and  learned  men,  that  there 


APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TEST.    559 

was  nothing  to  be  added,  and  that  the  new  interpreta- 
tions which,  from  time  to  time,  were  brought  forward, 
could  give  rise  only  to  heresies.  He  considered  it  nec- 
essary to  bridle  the  insolence  of  the  present  age,  and 
hold  it  in  subjection  to  the  fathers  and  the  church  ;  and, 
if  a  too  bold  spirit  arise,  it  must  be  checked  and  not 
allowed  to  gratify  itself  and  disturb  the  world  by  its 
new  revelations.  This  declaration  was  vastly  pleasing 
to  almost  the  entire  assembly.  It  is  such  an  easy  way 
of  getting  rid  of  difiiculty  and  establishing  the  truth, 
that  conservative  majorities  in  all  generations  have 
been  very  apt  to  adopt  it. 

In  the  congregation  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  March, 
the  wording  of  the  decree  respecting  the  Scriptures 
came  up  for  discussion.  To  many  it  seemed  rather 
hard  to  thunder  an  anathema  against  a  man,  and  curse 
him  as  a  heretic,  merely  because  he  could  not  receive 
every  unimportant  passage  of  the  Vulgate  as  authen- 
tic, and  had  some  new  view  of  the  interpretation  of  a 
text  or  two  of  the  Holy  Scripture.  After  long  discus- 
sion they  concluded  to  make  out  the  catalogue  of  the 
sacred  books,  including  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha, 
and  fortify  that  with  an  anathema,  as  also  the  authority 
of  church  traditions ;  and  then,  as  to  translations  and 
interpretations,  they  would  so  frame  the  decree  as  to 
make  it  a  remedy  against  novelties  and  impertinent 
expositions.  Thus  all  the  learned  men  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  in  all  time  were  shut  up  to  a  reception 
of  the  apocrj^phal  books  as  authentic  and  canonical, 
however  clearly  their  investigations  might  teach  them 
the  contrary,  and  though  they  knew  that  these  books 
had  been  expressly  rejected  by  almost  all  the  saints 


560  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

and  fathers  of  the  church,  who  must  therefore  be  re- 
garded as  openly  anathematized  by  the  council.  The 
attempt  of  Jahn,  and  some  other  learned  Catholics,  to 
escape  by  classing  the  books  as  ])roto  and  deiitero-ca- 
nonical^  is  wholly  unsuccessful ;  for,  though  this  dis- 
tinction was  proposed  in  the  council,  it  was  trium- 
phantly overborne  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  and 
all  the  books  included  in  the  Vulgate  were  placed  on  a 
footing  of  entire  equality. 

At  the  close  of  the  congregation.  Cardinal  Montanus 
eulogized  in  high  terms  the  wisdom  and  learning  of 
the  members,  and  earnestly  exhorted  them  to  an  or- 
derly and  seemly  behavior  in  the  public  session,  and 
to  avoid  there  all  opposition  and  disputation,  inasmuch 
as  the  points  of  difference  had  all  been  sufiiciently 
discussed  in  the  several  congregations ;  and  it  was 
proper  that  the  public  decision  should  be  characterized 
by  harmony  and  unanimity.  After  they  were  dismissed, 
Cardinal  Cervinus  privately  called  together  those  who 
had  opposed  the  reception  of  the  Vulgate  and  its  apoc- 
ryphal additions  to  the  original  canon,  as  authentic  and 
canonical,  and  endeavored  to  pacify  them  by  urging 
that  it  was  not  prohibited  but  allowed  to  correct  the 
Vulgate  by  the  original  text,  that  they  were  only  to 
allege  that  there  were  in  it  no  errors  of  faith  so  great 
that  it  ought  to  be  rejected. 

On  the  eighth  of  April  the  public  session  was  held, 
and  the  decrees  were  read  in  due  form.  The  catalogue 
includes  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha, 
and  the  decree  declares  that  the  synod  receives  all  the 
books  enumerated,  with  the  same  affection  and  rever- 
ence, and  then  proceeds  in  the  following  terms :   "But 


APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TEST.    561 

if  any  one  shall  not  receive  these  same  books  entire 
with  all  their  parts,  as  they  are  wont  to  be  read  in  the 
Catholic  church,  and  the  old  Latin  Vulgate  edition,  for 
sacred  and  canonical,  and  shall  knowingly  and  inten 
tionally  despise  the  traditions  aforesaid,  let  him  be 
accursed." 

This  surely  is  sufficiently  explicit ;  and  by  this  de- 
cree the  council  anathematizes  the  great  body  of  the 
saints  and  fathers  of  the  church,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 
The  next  decree  is  without  the  anathema,  and  the  first 
paragraph  is  in  the  following  terms:  "Moreover,  the 
same  holy  synod  decrees  and  declares,  that  this  same 
old  Vulgate  edition,  which  has  stood  the  test  of  so 
many  ages'  use  in  the  church,  in  public  readings,  dis- 
putings,  preachings  and  expoundings,  be  deemed  au- 
thentic, and  that  no  one  on  any  pretext  dare  or  pre- 
sume to  reject  it." 

Notwithstanding  the  strenuous  opposition  to  the  sen- 
timent of  these  decrees  while  under  discussion  in  the 
congregation,  when  they  were  put  to  vote  in  the  pub- 
lic session,  but  two  voices  were  heard  in  opposition  or 
remonstrance.  The  poor  little  troublesome  bishop  of 
Chiozza  alone  ventured  to  say  wo,  but  prudently  added, 
perhaps  I  shall  submit  {non  placet,  sed/orsan  ohediam). 
One  other  member  did  not  approve  that  traditions 
should  be  received  pari  pietatis  affectu  ac  reverentia 
(with  equal  affection  and  reverence),  but  for  pari  he 
would  substitute  summa  (for  equal  he  would  substitute 
greatest)  All  the  others  gave  an  unqualified  affirma- 
tive. 

When  these  proceedings  of  the  council  were  made 
public,  there  were  many,  especially  in  Germany,  who 
36 


562  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

expressed  themselves  very  freely  in  regard  to  them. 
Some  said  it  was  strange  that  five  cardinals  and  forty- 
eight  bishops  should  take  it  upon  themselves  to  decide 
so  perem.ptorily  in  regard  to  points  of  religion  of  so 
much  weight,  and  which  had  hitherto  remained  unde- 
cided, declaring  books  to  be  canonical  which  had  thus 
far  been  regardc  as  apocryphal,  or  at  most  uncertain, 
making  a  translation  authentic  which  in  numerous  pas-, 
sages  departs  widely  from  the  original  text,  and  deci' 
ding  in  :iov,  limited  or  how  extended  a  sense  men 
should  understand  the  word  of  God.  Moreover,  among 
all  these  fathers  there  were  none  any  way  distinguish- 
ed for  learning ;  there  were  some  good  canon  lawyers, 
but  they  had  no  extensive  knowledge  of  religious 
matters ;  the  few  theologians  there  were  below  medi- 
ocrity ;  the  assembly  was  principally  made  up  of  mere 
noblemen  and  courtiers ;  the  greater  part  of  the  bish- 
ops had  no  actual  sees,  and  those  who  were  really 
bishops  had  such  small  dioceses,  that  all  together  they 
could  not  be  considered  as  representing  even  the  thou- 
sandth part  of  Christendom.  From  all  Germany  there 
was  not  at  this  time  a  single  bishop  or  theologian  pres- 
ent in  the  council. 

Others  said  that  the  points  decided  were  after  all 
of  no  such  great  importance  as  they  appeared  to  be. 
As  to  traditions,  the  decree  was  a  mere  bag  of  wind ; 
for  to  what  purpose  was  it  to  ordain  that  the  church 
should  receive  the  traditions,  and  yet  not  decide  which 
were  the  true  traditions  that  must  be  received  ?  More- 
over, it  was  not  even  commanded  that  they  should  be 
received  ;  it  was  only  forbidden  that  they  should  know- 
ingly and  consciously  be  despised ;  so  that  one-  might 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TEST.    563 

even  reject  them  without  violating  the  decree,  pro- 
vided he  did  it  respectfully  and  reverently.  The  Pa- 
pal court  itself  sets  the  example  of  such  rejection ;  for 
it  prohibits  the  ordination  of  deaconesses ;  it  allows 
the  people  no  vote  in  the  choice  of  their  pastors,  when 
this  was  plainly  an  apostolic  institution  and  observed 
in  the  church  for  more  than  eight  hundred  years ;  it 
obstinately  withholds  the  cup  from  the  laity,  when 
Christ  instituted  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds,  and  it 
was  so  received  by  the  apostles,  and  has  been  so  ob- 
served by  the  whole  church  till  within  about  two  hun- 
dred years,  and  even  now  in  all  Christian  churches 
except  the  Latin.  If  these  be  not  traditions  what 
else  deserves  the  name  ?  And  in  respect  to  the  Vul- 
gate, what  signifies  the  aflSrmation  of  its  authenticity, 
while  the  different  editions  vary  so  much  from  each 
other,  and  no  one  of  these  is  pointed  out  as  the  cor- 
rect one  ? 

Such  were  the  comments  made  at  the  time,  and  to 
this  day  they  have  lost  none  of  their  relevancy  or  sig- 
nificance. The  only  authority  for  the  reception  of  the 
apocryphal  books  into  the  Old  Testament  canon  is  the 
authority  of  the  Council  of  Trent;  and  the  entire 
worthlessness  of  that  authority  the  preceding  pages 
abundantly  show.* 

*  The  statements  in  the  above  exhibition  of  the  debates  and  decis- 
ions in  the  Council  of  Trent,  rest  on  the  following  authorities :  Sarpi's 
Geschichte  des  Koncil  von  Trident,  uehersetzt  von  Winterer,  Band 
I.  S.  290—298.  The  same  translated  by  Brent,  pp.  150—162. 
Mendham's  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  pp.  48 — 68.  Marhei- 
necke's  Christliche  Symbolik,  11.  S.  224 — 261.  Perceval's  Roman 
Schism,  pp.  158 — 164. 


564  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE 


m.  THESE  BOOKS  NEVER  HAD  THE  SANCTION  OF  CHRIST  OR 
HIS  APOSTLES^  OR  ANY  OF  THE  WRITERS  OF  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT. 

The  New  Testament  very  frequently  quotes,  and 
much  more  frequently  contains  incidental  allusions  to, 
the  Old.  The  Pentateuch,  the  prophetic  books,  the 
Psalms,  and  other  parts  of  the  sacred  volume  of  the 
Hebrews,  were  continually  in  the  minds  of  the  wri- 
ters, and  flowed  out  in  all  their  sayings  and  writings, 
as  if  welling  up  from  the  depths  of  their  innermost 
religious  consciousness.  But  in  all  these  quotations 
and  allusions,  we  look  in  vain  for  a  reference  to  any 
of  the  apocryphal  books.  Though  there  are  many 
places  where  incidents  of  the  apocryphal  writings 
would  afford  illustrations  exceedingly  apt  and  beauti- 
ful, yet  no  such  illustrations  are  ever  found.  If  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  were  acquainted  with 
any  of  these  books  (and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  doubt 
that  they  had  seen  some  of  them),  most  carefully  must 
they  have  abstained  from  alluding  to  them  in  their 
canonical  writings. 

They  sanctioned  the  whole  Hebrew  canon  as  it  ex- 
isted in  their  time ;  but  they  sanctioned  none  of 
the  apocryphal  books,  for  they  never  quote  them, 
and  these  books  never  formed  a  part  of  the  Hebrew 
canon.  We  speak  of  the  ancient  apocryphal  books 
which  are  printed  in  the  Vulgate  Bible,  and  not  of  the 
more  recent  ones,  such  as  the  book  of  Enoch,  the  As- 
cension of  Moses,  etc.  These,  it  is  true  sometimes 
borrow  from  the  New  Testament  (compare  2  Tim.  iii. 
8,  Jude  ix.  14) ;  but  the  New  Testament  never  from 


APOCRYPHAL  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TEST.  565 

them,  since  it  is  itself  more  ancient  than  they  are,  or 
at  least  more  ancient  than  the  probably  interpolated 
passages  on  which  the  stress  is  laid, 

rV.  THESE  BOOKS  FORMED  NO  PART  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  HE- 
BREW CANON,  AND  WERE  NOT  WRITTEN  TILL  AFTER  IN- 
SPIRATION HAD  CEASED  AND  THE  CANON  WAS  CLOSED. 

On  this  point  we  have  the  most  explicit,  the  entirely 
disinterested  testimony  of  Josephus,  the  Jewish  histo- 
rian. In  his  work  against  Apion  (i.  8),  he  gives  an 
account  of  all  the  books  held  sacred  by  the  Hebrews, 
and  this  testimony  is  also  copied  by  Eusebius,  the  cel- 
ebrated Christian  historian  (Eccl.  Hist.  iii.  10).  This 
passage  of  Josephus  we  shall  quote  in  full,  as  it  stands 
in  his  writings,  noting  the  variations  that  occur  in  Eu- 
sebius. 

'■'■  We  have  not  innumerable  books  which  contradict 
each  other,  but  only  twenty-two,  which  contain  the  his- 
tory of  all  past  times,  and  are  justly  believed  to  be 
divine.  Five  of  these  belong  to  Moses,  and  contain 
his  laws,  and  the  history  of  the  origin  of  mankind, 
and  reach  to  his  death.  This  is  a  period  of  nearly 
three  thousand  years.  From  the  death  of  Moses  to 
Artaxerxes  [Eusebius :  to  the  death  of  Artaxerxes], 
who,  after  Xerxes,  reigned  over  the  Persians,  the 
prophets  who  lived  after  Moses  wrote  down  the  events 
of  their  times  in  thirteen  books.  The  other  four  books 
contain  hymns  to  God  and  precepts  for  men.  From 
Artaxerxes  to  our  own  times  our  history  has  indeed 
been  written ;  but  these  writings  are  not  esteemed 
worthy  of  the  same  credit  as  the  former,  because  since 
that  time  we  have  no  certain  succession  of  prophets. 


566  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"  What  trust  we  put  in  these  our  writings  is  manifest 
by  our  deeds.  Though  so  long  time  has  elapsed,  no 
one  has  ever  dared  to  add  to,  or  take  from  them,  or 
make  any  change  in  them  whatever.  It  is  as  it  were 
inborn  with  every  Jew,  from  the  very  first  origin  of 
the  nation,  to  consider  these  books  as  the  doctrines  of 
God,  to  stand  by  them  constantly,  and  if  need  be, 
cheerfully  to  die  for  them.  It  is  no  new  thing  to  see 
the  captives  of  our  nation,  many  of  them  in  number 
and  at  many  different  times,  endure  tortures  and  deaths 
of  all  kinds  in  the  public  theatres,  rather  than  utter  a 
word  against  our  laws,  or  the  records  which  contain 
them." 

Josephus  here  clearly  recognizes  the  existence  of 
the  apocryphal  books  and  expressly  excludes  them 
from  the  canon ;  while  he  bears  open  testimony,  as  of 
a  matter  well  known  to  all  the  world,  to  the  extreme 
and  scrupulous  care  with  which  the  Jews  preserved 
all  their  canonical  books  free  from  mutilation  and  ad- 
dition and  change  of  every  kind. 

Comparing  these  explicit  statements  of  Josephus 
with  the  numerous  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament 
which  he  has  made  in  his  historical  writings,  it  is  quite 
evident  that  the  twenty-two  books  which  he  includes  in 
the  Hebrew  canon,  and  which  he  affirms  were  held 
most  sacred  by  the  Jews  who  were  contemporary  with 
Christ  and  the  apostles,  are  the  following : 

The  five  books  of  Moses  : 

(1)  Genesis.  (2)  Exodus.  (3)  Leviticus. 

(4)  Numbers.  (5)  Deuteronomy. 


APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TEST.    567 

The  thirteen  prophetic  books : 

(1)  Joshua.  (2)  Judges  and  Ruth. 

(3)  2  Books  of  Samuel.  (4)  2  Books  of  Kings. 

(5)  2  Books  of  Chronicles.  (6)  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

(7)  Esther.  (8)  Isaiah. 

(9)  Jeremiah.  (10)  Ezekiel. 

(11)  Daniel.  (12)  12  Minor  Prophets. 
(13)  Job. 

The  four  Books  of  hymns  and  precepts : 

(1)  Psalms.  (2)Proverbs. 

(3)  Ecclesiastes.  (4)   Canticles. 

This  is  according  to  the  Jewish  arrangement  and 
nomenclature  of  the  books,  which,  in  many  respects, 
differs  from  that  which  has  been  received  into  our 
English  Bibles  from  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Sev- 
enty. * 

V.  THESE  BOOKS  WERE  REJECTED  WITH  SINGULAR  UNANIM- 
ITY BY  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCHES  AND  THE  BEST 
OF  THE  CHURCH  FATHERS. 

(1)   Testimony  of  MelUo^  Bishop  of  Sardis^  A.  D.  170, 
who  rejects  them  all. 

Melito  was,  after  the  apostles,  one  of  the  earliest 
bishops  of  the  apocalyptic  church  of  Sardis,  a  distin- 
guished writer,  and  of  great  influence  among  the  early 
Christians.  He  travelled  to  Palestine  for  the  express 
purpose  of  ascertaining  exactly  the  canon  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  gave  the  result  of  his  investigations  in 
the  following  letter  to  his  friend  Onesimus,  which  we 
find  in  Eusebius  (Eccl.  Hist.  B.  iv.  26) 

*  Compare  Eichhorn's  Einleit.  ins  Alt.  Test.  B.  I.  S.  143—163. 


568  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

"  Melito  to  Onesimus  his  brother,  greetmg:  Since 
you  have  often,  on  account  of  your  zeal  for  the  word 
of  God,  begged  of  me  to  make  selections  for  you,  from 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  concerning  the  Saviour  and 
our  whole  faith ;  and  as  you,  moreover,  wished  to  learn 
accurately  of  the  old  books,  how  many"  they  are  in 
number  and  in  what  order  they  are  written,  I  have 
earnestly  endeavored  to  perform  the  same,  well  know- 
ing your  zeal  for  the  faith  and  your  great  desire  to 
learn  the  word  of  God ;  and  that,  through  your  earnest 
love  toward  God,  you  desire  these  more  than  all  things 
else,  striving  for  your  eternal  salvation. 

"  I  accordingly  went  to  the  East,  and,  coming  to  the 
very  place  where  these  things  were  preached  and 
transacted,  I  have  accurately  learned  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament.  Their  names  are  as  follows :  five 
books  of  Moses,  to  wit,  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus, 
Numbers,  Deuteronomy.  Joshua  Nave,  Judges,  Ruth, 
Four  books  of  Kings  [two  of  Samuel  and  two  of 
Kings],  two  of  Paralipomenon  [Chronicles].  The 
Psalms  of  David,  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  (which  is 
also  Wisdom),  Ecclesiastcs,  the  Song  of  Songs,  Job. 
Of  the  prophets,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah ;  and  of  the  twelve 
prophets,  one  book  ;  Daniel,  Ezekiel,  Esdras  "  [includ- 
ing also  Nehemiah,  and  perhaps  Esther]. 

Here  this  ancient  bishop  excludes  every  apocryphal 
book  from  the  canon,  though  he  must  have  known  of 
their  existence.  From  the  names  which  he  gives  to 
some  of  the  books,  it  is  plain  that  he  read  them  in  the 
Septuagint  translation;  yet,  though  the  apocryphal 
books  had  probably  been  added  to  tliis  ti-anslation  be- 
fore his  time,  he  carefully  excludes  them   all.     The 


APOCRYPHAL  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TEST.  569 

most  ancient  church  fathers  were  much  more  discrim- 
inating in  their  investigation  of  the  sacred  books,  than 
the  comparatively  modern  fathers  in  the  Council  of 
Trent.  Melito  knew  whereof  he  ajQQrmed,  for  he  had 
examined  with  the  greatest  care,  at  the  very  source  of 
information,  and  under  the  pressure  of  a  very  strong 
and  elevated  motive. 

Melito  does  not  give  the  name  of  the  book  of  Esther, 
and  in  some  other  of  the  church  fathers  this  name  is 
also  omitted.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  the  book 
of  Esther  was  by  them  excluded  from  the  canon.  Many, 
supposing  that  book  to  have  been  written  by  Ezra, 
included  it  under  the  general  name  of  Esdras.  In 
Hebrew  the  books  have  no  names,  but  each  is  desig- 
nated by  its  initial  word.  Melito  arranges  the  books 
in  the  order  of  time,  and  the  four  historical  books  pre- 
ceding the  captivity  (two  of  Samuel  and  two  of  Kings) 
he  calls  by  the  general  name  of  Kings,  and  so  it  is 
possible  that  he  might  have  designated  the  three 
historical  books  subsequent  to  the  captivity  by  the 
general  name  of  Esdras,  especially  as  Nehemiah  was 
usually  included  in  that  designation,  and  Esther  was 
by  some  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  Ezra.* 

It  is  possible,  also,  that  Esther  by  these  fathers  might 
have  been  entirely  excluded,  on  account  of  its  being 
so  encumbered  with  apocryphal  additions,  which  they 
might  have  found  it  difficult  to  separate  from  the  gen- 
uine work. 

*  Gary's  Testimonies  of  the  Fathers,  p.  114.  Eichhorn's  Einleit. 
Alt.  Test.  i.  166. 


570  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

(2)   Testimony  of  Ori(/en,  the  great  Biblical  Scholar  of 

the  Early  Greek  Churchy  A.  D.  200,  loho  rejects'  them 

all. 

The  testimony  of  Origen  is  preserved  by  Eusebius 
(Eccl.  Hist.  VI.  25),  and  is  for  substance  the  follow- 
ing :  "It  should  be  observed  that  the  collective  books, 
as  handed  down  by  the  Hebrews,  are  twenty-two,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  letters  in  their  alphabet. 
These  twenty-two  books,  according  to  the  Hebrews, 
are  as  follows :  (1)  Genesis ;  (2)  Exodus ;  (3)  Leviticus ; 
(4)  Numbers  ;  (5)  Deuteronomy ;  (6)  Joshua,  the  son 
of  Nave;  (7)  Judges  and  Ruth  in  one;  (8)  first  and 
second  of  Kings  in  one  (Samuel)  ;  (9)  third  and  fourth 
of  Kings  in  one;  (10)  first  and  second  of  Chronicles 
(Paralipomenon)  in  one  ;  (11)  Esdras,  first  and  second 
(i.  e.  Nehemiah)  in  one;  (12)  Book  of  Psalms;  (13) 
Proverbs  of  Solomon ;  (14)  Ecclesiastes ;  (15)  Song 
of  Songs;  (IG)  Isaiah;  (17)  Jeremiah,  with  Lamen- 
tations and  the  epistle,  in  one;  (18)  Daniel;  (19) 
Ezekiel;   (20)  Job  ;   (21)  Esther." 

It  is  remarkable  that,  though  Origen  twice  says  the 
Hebrew  books  are  twenty-two,  the  list  which  he  gives 
contains  but  twenty-one.  On  examination,  we  find 
the  book  of  the  twelve  minor  prophets  omitted.  This 
added,  would  make  the  requisite  number  of  twenty- 
two.  That  there  is  here,  not  a  mistake  of  Origen,  but 
an  error  in  the  text  of  Eusebius,  is  manifest  from  the 
fact  that  the  Latin  translation  of  Origen  by  Rufinus 
has  this  book,  as  docs  also  Hilary's  prologue  to  the 
Psalms,  wliicli  inchidos  this  passage  of  Origen.*      Ori- 

*Eichhorn's  Einleit.ins  Alt.  Test.  1.  169,  170.  Perceval's  lloman 
Schism,  p.  421. 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      571 

gen's  other  writings,  also,  show  his  acquaintance  with 
these  prophets. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  easy  to  determine  what  Origen 
intends  by  the  epistle  of  Jeremiah.  Possibly  it  may 
be  the  letter  contained  in  the  apocryphal  book  of 
Baruch,  chapter  vi.  That  Origen  understood  the  dif- 
ference between  the  canonical  and  apocryphal  books 
is  manifest  from  what  he  says  in  immediate  connection 
with  his  catalogue :  "  Separate  from  these  (^'|w  <5^  xoiwi) 
are  the  Maccabees,"  etc. 

(3)  Testimony  of  the  Apostolic  Canons.,  about  A.  D. 
250,  which  probably  reject  them  all. 

The  text  here  is  somewhat  uncertain,  and  has  evi- 
dently been  tampered  with.  The  copies  vary  from 
each  other.  One  manuscript  includes  Judith,  and 
some  admit  Maccabees ;  but  the  oldest  and  best  copies 
exclude  all  the  apocryphal  books.  The  following  is 
the  catalogue  according  to  the  best  testimony  : 

"Let  these  be  the  sacred  and  holy  books  for  all, 
both  clergy  and  laity,  namely,  of  the  Old  Testament, 
of  Moses  five.  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers, 
Deuteronomy ;  of  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nave,  one ;  of 
Buth  one  ;  of  Kings  four ;  of  Paralipomenon  [Chroni- 
cles], the  book  of  days,  two  ;  of  Esdras  two  [including 
Nehemiah] ;  of  Esther  one ;  of  Job  one ;  of  the  Psal- 
ter one ;  of  Solomon  three,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes, 
Song  of  Songs ;  of  the  twelve  prophets  one ;  of  Isaiah 
one ;  of  Jeremiah  one ;  of  Ezekiel  one ;  one  of  Daniel." 
There  is  then  permission  given  to  read  the  Son  of 
Sirach.  The  book  of  Judges  is  omitted,  unless  it  be 
•-^eluded  under  the  name  of  Ruth.     The  text,    how- 


572  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

ever,  is  so  imperfect,  that  we  cannot  very  confidently 
rely  upon  it.  Nevertheless,  it  shows,  decidedly,  that 
in  the  middle  of  the  thu'd  century  the  apocryphal 
books  had  not  yet  found  their  way  as  canonical  into 
the  Christian  church.* 

(4)  Testimony  of  Atlianasius^  the  great  Champion  of 
Ortliodoxy^  A.  D.  330,  who  ^-ejects  them  all  except 
Baruch. 

The  testimony  of  this  father  may  be  found  in  his 
works,  Tom.  II.  p.  39,  Paris  edition,  1629.  It  is  as 
follows :  "  The  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  twenty- 
two,  which  is  the  number  of  the  letters  among  the 
Hebrews.  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deu- 
teronomy, Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  of  Kings  four,  two 
books ;  of  Paralipomenon  (Chronicles)  two,  one  book ; 
Esdras  two,  one  book ;  Psalms,  Proverbs ;  twelve  pro- 
phets, one  book  ;  then  Isaiah,  Jeremiah  with  Barucli, 
Lamentations,  and  epistles ;  Ezekiel  and  Daniel.  Then 
there  are  books  uncanonical,  but  readable,  the  Wisdom 
of  Solomon,  Sirach,  Esther,  Judith,  Tobit.'' 

It  is  very  curious  that  Athanasius  should  put  Esther 
among  the  uncanonical  books,  and  Baruch  in  the  can- 
onical ;  yet  so  it  reads.  Esther  was  encumbered  with 
many  apocryphal  additions,  and  the  epistle  ascribed 
to  Jeremiah  in  the  book  of  Baruch  was  by  some  re- 
ceived as  genuine.  This  may  account  for  the  mistake 
of  Athanasius  on  this  point ;  and  the  entire  testimony 
of    Athanasius   clearly    shows,    that   the    apocryphal 


*Labbe  and  Cossart,  Concil.  I.  44.     Perceval's  Roman  Schism, 
421,  422. 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS   OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      573 

books,   as  a  whole,  were  decidedly  rejected  by  the 
church  in  his  time. 

There  is  another  passage  from  Athanasius,  very  val- 
uable on  account  of  the  clear  distinction  which  it  makes 
between  the  canonical  and  the  apocryphal  books.  It 
is  in  the  Epist.  Festal,  quoted  by  Carey  (Testimonies 
of  the  Fathers,  p.  117):  "Since  some  persons  have 
attempted  to  set  in  order  the  books  that  are  called 
apocryphal,  and  to  mix  them  with  the  divinely  inspired 
Scriptures,  of  which  we  have  been  fully  certified,  as 
those  who  saw  them  from  the  beginning,  and  who,  be- 
ing ministers  of  the  word,  handed  them  down  from 
our  fathers,  it  seemed  fitting  to  me,  being  exhorted 
thereto  by  the  orthodox  brethren,  and  having  learned 
the  truth,  to  set  out  in  order  the  canonical  Scriptures, 
which  have  been  handed  down,  and  are  believed  to  be 
from  God ;  that  every  one  who  has  been  deceived, 
may  convict  those  who  have  led  him  astray."  Here 
follows  the  list.  He  adds  :  "It  is  true  that,  besides 
these,  there  are  other  books  which  are  not  put  into  the 
canon,  but  yet  are  appointed  by  the  fathers  to  be  read 
by  those  who  first  come  to  be  instructed  in  the  way 
of  piety."  He  then  gives  the  names  of  most  of  the 
common  apocryphal  books. 

(5)  Testimony  of  Hilary.,  the  celebrated  Bislwp  of 
Poictiers.,  A.  D.  350,  wlio  rejects  them  all. 
Prologue  to  the  Psalms,  Sec.  15  :  "And  this  is  the 
cause  that  the  law  of  the  Old  Testament  is  arranged 
in  twenty-two  books,  that  they  may  correspond  with 
the  number  of  the  Hebrew  letters.  According  to  the 
traditions  of  the  ancients,  they  are  so  arranged  that 


574  THE     BOOKS     OF     THE     BIBLE. 

there  are  five  books  of  Moses ;  Joshua  Nave,  six ; 
Judges  and  Ruth,  seven ;  first  and  second  of  Kings, 
eight ;  third  and  fourth  of  Kings,  nine ;  of  Paralipo- 
menon  two,  ten;  book  of  days  of  Esdras,  eleven; 
Solomon's  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  Song  of  Songs,  thir- 
teen, fourteen  and  fifteen  ;  twelve  prophets,  sixteen ; 
then  Isaiah,  Jeremiah  with  Lamentations  and  Epistle, 
these  and  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  and  Job  and  Esther,  make 
up  the  number  of  twenty-two  books.  Some  are  pleas- 
ed to  add  Tobit  and  Judith,  to  make  the  number 
twenty-four,  according  to  the  letters  of  the  Greek 
alphabet." 

This  hint  of  Hilary's,  which  has  already  been  refer- 
red to  in  another  part  of  this  discussion,  is  not  an  un- 
fair specimen  of  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the 
logic  which  we  find  among  the  good  old  fathers  of  the 
first  four  centuries.  The  Greeks  had  two  more  letters 
in  their  alphabet  than  the  Hebrews  had  in  theirs,  and 
therefore  it  was  well  that  they  should  have  two  more 
books  in  their  Old  Testament  canon,  to  make  all  cor- 
respond ;  and  it  is  suggested  that  for  this  purpose  two 
can  be  taken  out  of  the  Apocrypha !  No  wonder  that 
where  such  reasoning  prevailed,  spurious  books  some- 
times crept  in. 

(6)  Testimony  of  Epiphanius^  the  great  opposer  of 
Heresy^  A.  D.  360,  who  rejects  them  all. 
"The  Hebrews  have  two  and  twenty  letters,  and 
five  of  these  have  two  forms;  and  also  their  sacred 
books  are  so  disposed  that  they  number  twenty-two, 
and  yet  twenty -seven  are  found,  because  five  of  tliem 
are  divided  into  two  parts.     Thus  Ruth  is  joined  to 


APOCIiYPHAL   BOOKS    OF'  THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      575 

Judges,  and  both  are  reckoned  as  one  book  by  the 
Hebrews ;  and  the  first  of  Paralipomenon  is  joined  to 
the  second,  and  both  called  one  book ;  the  first  of 
Kings  is  joined  to  the  second,  and  called  one  book ; 
the  third  to  the  fourth,  and  so  on.  Thus  the  books 
are  contained  in  four  Pentateuchs,  and  two  others  re- 
main besides ;  so  that  the  canonical  books  are  thus : 
five  legislative,  (1)  Genesis,  (2)  Exodus,  (3)  Leviticus, 
(4)  Numbers,  (5)  Deuteronomy;  and  this  is  the  Pen- 
tateuch and  the  legislation.  Then  five  are  poetical, 
(6)  the  book  of  Job,  (7)  the  Psalter,  (8)  Proverbs  of 
Solomon,  (9)  Ecclesiastes,  (10)  Song  of  Songs.  Then 
another  Pentateuch  which  is  called  the  writings,  and 
by  some  the  holy  writings,  which  are  as  follows:  (11) 
book  of  Joshua,  son  of  Nave,  (12)  Judges  with  Ruth, 
(13)  first  of  Paralipomenon  with  the  second,  (14)  first 
of  Kings  with  the  second,  (15)  third  of  Kings  with 
the  fourth,  (16)  the  twelve  Prophets,  (17)  Isaiah,  (18) 
Jeremiah,  (19)  Ezekiel,  (20)  Daniel;  and  this  is  the 
prophetic  Pentateuch.  Two  others  remain,  which  are, 
one  of  Esdras  and  this  is  also  reckoned,  and  another 
book,  which  is  called  that  of  Esther.  Thus  the  twenty- 
two  books  are  completed,  according  to  the  number  of 
the  Hebrew  letters."  He  then  mentions  two  of  the 
apocryphal  books,  to  wit,  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon, 
and  the  book  of  Jesus  Sirach,  and  says:  "these  in- 
deed are  useful  books  and  profitable,  but  they  are  not 
placed  in  the  number  of  the  canonical."  De  Ponder, 
et  Mens.  II.  16.* 


*  Perceval's  Roman  Schism,  pp.  423,  424.     Carey's  Testimonies, 
pp.  116.— 118. 


57G  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

(7)  Testimony  of  the  Council  of  Laodicea^  A.  D.  367, 
confirmed  hy  the  Fourth  General  Council  of  Chalce- 
dony A.  D.  451,  which  rejects  them  all. 

The  books  of  the  Old  Testament  which  must  be 
read  are :  Genesis  of  the  world,  Exodus  from  Egypt, 
Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy,  Joshua  son  of  Nave, 
Judges,  Ruth,  Esther,  of  Kings  first  and  second,  third 
and  fourth,  Paralipomenon  first  and  second,  Esdras 
first  and  second,  book  of  150  Psalms,  Proverbs  of  Sol- 
omon, Ecclesiastes,  Song  of  Songs,  Job,  twelve  Pro- 
phets, Isaiah,  Jeremiah  [and  Baruch],*  Lamentations 
and  Epistles,  Ezekiel,  Daniel"  Labbe  and  Cossart, 
Concil  I.  1509. 

(8)  Testimony  of  Gregory  Nazianzen^  the  Felloiu-stu- 
dent  and  distinguished  Opponent  of  the  Emperor 
Julian^  A.  D.  390,  who  rejects  them  all. 

Gregory  gives  a  catalogue  of  the  sacred  books  in 
one  of  those  poetic  effusions  of  his,  which  were  quite 
famous  in  their  day.  We  will  content  ourselves  with 
simply  giving  the  facts,  without  attempting  to  translate 
the  poetry. 

"All  the  historical  books  are  twelve.  The  first  is 
Genesis,  then  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  and  the 
Second  Law  (Deuteronomy).  Then  Joshua,  and 
Judges,  and  Kuth  the  eighth.  The  nintli  and  tenth 
books  are  the  deeds  of  the  Kings,  then  Paralipomenon, 
and  you  have  Esdras  the  last.     Five  are  the  poetic 

*  Tho  book  of  Baruch  is  omitted  in  the  best  copies ;  see  above,  p. 
282,  debates  in  the  Council  of  Trent 
Vol.  XI.  No.  42. 


APOCRYrnAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      577 

books,  of  which  the  first  is  Job,  then  David,  then  three 
of  Solomon,  Ecclesiastes,  Song,  and  Proverbs.  Five 
also  are  those  of  the  prophetic  spirit.  Twelve  [pro- 
phets] indeed  are  in  one  writing,  Ilosea,  Amos,  and 
Micah  the  third,  then  Jonah,  Joel  and  Obadiah,  Nahum, 
Habakkuk  and  Zephaniah,  Haggai,  then  Zachariah  and 
Malachi.  These  make  one  boo]v.  The  second  is  Isaiah, 
then  Jeremiah,  who  was  called  from  the  womb,  then 
Ezekiel,  and  the  grace  of  Daniel.  He  gave  two  and 
twenty  ancient  books,  corresponding  to  the  letters  of 
the  Hebrew  alphabet." 

He  then  speaks  of  other  books  (wirwy  ixtds)  "separate 
from  these,"  and  (^ovx  iv  ym^crioig)  "not  among  the  gen- 
uine ,"  thus  showing  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the 
apocryphal  books,  and  intelligently  rejected  them. 

(9)  Testimony  of  AmpMlocMus^  tlie  celebrated  Bisliop 
of  Iconium^  A.  D.  390,  wlio  rejects  them  all. 

Amphilochius  is  the  one  who  invented  the  argu- 
ment, once  so  famous,  which  convinced  the  Emperor 
Theodosius  of  the  deity  of  Christ.  Going  to  the  em- 
peror to  induce  him  to  take  some  measures  against  the 
Arians,  he  purposely  omitted  showing  any  respect  to 
his  son  Arcadius.  The  emperor  manifested  indigna- 
tion, and  the  bishop  boldly  said :  "  Sire,  are  you  offend- 
ed that  an  indignity  is  offered  to  your  son  ?  Then  be 
assured  God  must  abhor  those  who  treat  his  Son  with 
disrespect."  The  emperor,  of  course,  after  this,  was 
very  severe  on  the  Arians. 

The  catalogue  of  Amphilochius  is  also  in  poetry, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  for  our  purpose  that  we  translate 
into  verse. 

37 


578  THE   BOOKS    OF    THE     CICLE. 

"I  Trill  speak  of  the  first  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  Pentateuch,  the  Creation  [Genesis],  then 
Exodus ;  Leviticus  is  the  middle  book,  after  that, 
Kumbers,  then  Deuteronomy.  Add  to  these  Joshua 
and  Judges;  then  Ruth,  four  books  of  Kings,  and  two 
books  of  Paralipomenon ;  and  upon  these  the  first  of 
Esdras,  then  the  second.  I  will  mention  to  you  in 
order  the  five  poetic  books :  Job,  pressed  with  con- 
flicts of  various  sufferings ;  the  book  Psalms,  the  me- 
lodious cure  for  souls ;  three  books  of  Solomon  the 
wise,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Songs; 
and  to  these  add  the  twelve  prophets,  Hosea  first,  then 
Amos  the  second,  Micah,  Joel,  Obadiah,  also  Jonah, 
the  type  of  his  three  days'  passion,  after  these  Nahum, 
Habakkuk,  then  the  ninth  Zephaniah,  Haggai  and  Zac- 
hariah,  and  the  far-famed  messenger  ]\Ialachi.  After 
which  learn  four  prophets,  Isaiah  the  great  free  speak- 
er, Jeremiah  the  sympathetic  and  mystic,  Ezckiel,  and 
Daniel  the  last,  the  same  most  wise  in  Avords  and  deeds. 
To  these  some  also  add  Esther,"     lamh.  ad  Sel. 

This  father,  like  some  others,  suggests  a  doubt  as  to 
Esther ;  but  in  all  other  respects  his  canon  is  precisely 
like  ours,  and  excludes  every  one  of  the  apocryphal 
books. 

(10)  Testimony  of  Jerome^  the  great  Bihlical  Scholar 
of  tJie  Latin  Churchy  the  Author  or  Cominler  of  the 
very  Vulgate  itself  A.  D.  400,  luho  clearly  and  de- 
cidedly rejects  them  all. 

No  one  of  the  fathers  had  ever  studied  so  thorough- 
ly the  literature  of  the  Bible  or  understood  it  so  well 
as  Jerome.     If  Origcn  were  his  ecLual  or  even  his  su- 


APOCRYniAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      579 

perior,  in  general  learning  and  iron  industry,  Jerome 
had  most  decidedly  the  advantage  in  sound  judgment 
and  common-sense  principles  of  interpretation,  Jerome 
divides  and  arranges  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  the  following  manner  :  (1 — 5)  five  books  of  Moses ; 
(6)  Joshua;  (7)  Judges  and  Ruth;  (8)  two  books  of 
Samuel;  (9)  two  books  of  Kings;  (10)  Isaiah  ;  (11) 
Jeremiah's  Prophecy  and  Elegy;  (12)  Ezekiel ;  (13) 
twelve  minor  Prophets;  (14)  Job;  (15)  Psalms;  (16) 
Proverbs;  (17)  Ecclesiastcs ;  (18)  Song  of  Solomon; 
(19)  Daniel;  (20)  two  books  of  Chronicles;  (21)  two 
books  of  Ezra,  i.  e.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah;    (22)  Esther. 

In  his  Prologus  galeatus  to  the  Yulgate,  he  makes 
the  following  statements,  which  are  directly  in  the 
teeth  of  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Trent  in  re- 
spect to  that  very  Vulgate.  "There  are  twenty-two 
letters  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet  .  .  .  and  five  of  these 
letters  have  two  forms,  to  wit,  Caph,  Mem,  Nun,  Pe, 
Tsade.  Hence  with  most,  five  of  the  books  are  divi- 
ded into  tw^o,  to  wit,  Samuel^  MelacJiim^  Dihre  Hajam- 
onim,  Esdras,  and  Jeremiah  with  Cinotli^  that  is,  La- 
mentations. 

"As  there  are,  therefore,  twenty-two  elements,  by 
which  we  write  in  Hebrew  all  that  we  speak  ...  so 
there  arc  reckoned  twenty-two  volumes.  .  .  .  The 
first  book  among  them  is  called  Beresitli^  which  we 
name  Genesis^  the  second  Yeele  Semoth^  the  tliird 
Yajiaxi^  that  is,  Leviticus^  the  fourth  Yajedahher^  which 
we  call  Numbers^  the  fifth  Elle  Haddeharim^  which  is 
styled  Deuteronomy.  These  are  the  five  books  of 
!Moses,  which  they  appropriately  style  Tliora^  that  is, 
the  Law, 


580  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

"  They  make  a  second  rank  of  the  Prophets^  and 
they  begin  with  Jesus  the  son  of  Nave^  whom  they  call 
Josue  hen  Nun.  Then  they  add  Sophetim.,  that  is,  the 
book  of  Judges^  in  which  they  include  Rutli.,  because 
her  story  belongs  to  the  time  of  the  judges.  Third 
follows  Samuel.,  which  we  call  the  first  and  second  of 
Kings  ',  the  fourth  MelacMm^  that  is,  Kings.,  which  is 
contained  in  the  third  and  fourth  volume  of  Kings. 
The  fifth  is  Ksaias^  the  sixth  Jeremias.,  the  seventh 
Ezekiel.  The  eighth  is  the  book  of  the  twelve  Pro- 
2)Jiets^  which  among  them  is  called  Thereasar. 

"The  third  rank  contains  the  Hagiograplia.  The 
first  book  by  Joh  begins ;  the  second  is  by  David,  the 
volume  of  Psalms  in  five  divisions.  The  third  is  Sol- 
omon, having  three  books,  Proverhs.,  which  they  call 
Misle.,  that  is,  Parables.,  the  fourth  Kcclesiastes^  that  is, 
Cohelefh,  the  fifth  Song  of  Songs,  which  they  entitle 
Sir  Hassirim.  The  sixth  is  Daniel.,  the  seventh  Dihre 
ffcijammim,  that  is,  the  Words  of  Days  .  .  .  which 
among  us  is  entitled  the  first  and  second  of  Paralipo- 
menon  [Chronicles).  The  eighth  is  Esdras.,  which  the 
Greeks  and  Latins  divide  into  two  books  \_Ezra  and 
Nehemiali].,  the  ninth  is  Esther. 

Thus  there  are  twenty-two  books  of  the  Old  Law., 
five  of  Ifoses,  eight  of  the  Prophets,  and  nine  of  the 
Hagiographa.  Some  put  Ruth  and  Cinoth  in  the  Hag- 
iographa  .  .  .  ,  and  then  the  books  of  the  Old  Law 
are  made  twenty-four. 

"This  prologue  of  the  Scriptures  can  serve  as  a  for- 
tified approach  to  all  the  books  which  we  translate 
from  the  Hebrew  into  Latin ;  so  that  we  may  know 
that  whatever  is  beyond  these  7nust  he  put  in  the  Apoc- 


APOCRTPILS.L   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      581 

rypha.  Therefore  the  book  of  Wisdom^  which  is  com- 
monly entitled  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon ;  the  book  of 
Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  Judith^  Tobias,  and  Pastor^ 
ARE  NOT  IN  THE  CANON.  I  havc  found  the  first  of  Mac- 
cabees in  Hebrew  ;  the  second  is  Greek,  as  it  can  be 
proved  from  its  very  phraseology." 

Preface  to  Jeremiah,  "  We  omit  the  book  of 
Baruch  .  .  .  which  does  not  exist  and  is  not  read 
among  the  Hebrews." 

Preface  to  Daniel.  This  book,  "among  the  He- 
brews has  neither  the  story  of  Susannah,  nor  the  hymn 
of  the  three  youths,  nor  the  fables  of  Bel  and  the 
Dragon." 

Jerome  also  makes  a  similar  remark  in  regard  to 
tlie  apocryphal  additions  to  the  book  of  Esther.  In 
the  very  text  of  the  Vulgate  itself  he  notes  with  the 
most  scrupulous  care  every  apocryphal  addition  to  the 
sacred  text;  and,  had  the  Latin  church  but  heeded 
the  teachings  of  her  great  master  on  this  subject,  her 
Bible  would  never  have  been  contaminated  by  its 
spurious  excrescences  •  nor  would  the  fathers  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  have  made  a  decision  alike  discred- 
itable to  their  reputation  as  scholars  and  their  sincerity 
and  integrity  as  Christian  men. 

We  will  adduce  but  one  other  witness. 

(11)  Testimony  of  Rnfinus,  the  learned  Translator  of 
Origen,  A.  D.  400,  lulio  rejects  them  all. 
Ruffinus  was  a  theological  opponent  of  Jerome,  and 
had  many  a  sharp  controversy  with  him  in  regard  to 
Origen ;  but  when  he  gives  a  catalogue  of  the  sacred 
books,  he  agrees  with  Jerome  exactly,  and  then  pro- 


i)b2  THE    BOOKS    OF    THE    BIBLE, 

ceeds  to  remark :  "These  are  they  which  the  Fathers 
concluded  within  the  canon;  of  which  thej  would 
have  the  assertions  of  our  faith  to  consist.  But  we 
must  know  that  there  are  other  books,  which  are  not 
called  canonical,  but  ecclesiastical,  by  the  ancients; 
such  as  the  Wisdom,  which  is  called  of  Solomon,  and 
another  Wisdom,  which  is  called  of  the  Son  of  Sirach ; 
which  book  among  the  Latins  is  called  by  this  general 
term  'Ecclesiasticus,'  by  which  word,  not  the  author 
of  the  book,  but  the  quality  of  the  writing  is  desig- 
nated. Of  the  same  order  is  the  little  book  of  Tobit, 
also  Judith  and  the  books  of  Maccabees."* 

Erom  the  preceding  exhibition  it  is  as  plain  as  day- 
light can  make  anything  plain,  that  the  Romish  church, 
in  receiving  the  apocryphal  books  as  a  part  of  Scrip- 
ture, has  not  only  set  at  nought  all  historical  truth,  but 
acted  in  direct  violation  of  its  own  fundamental  prin- 
ciple. The  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers  is  what 
she  requires  for  the  establishment  of  a  doctrine ;  but 
on  this  subject,  instead  of  a  unanimous  consent,  for  the 
first  four  centuries  she  is  met  with  an  all  but  unanimous 
dissent  Her  maxim  is  to  receive  only  quod  semper^ 
quod  uhique,  quod  ah  omnibus^  (what  always,  what 
every  where,  v»'liut  by  all),  is  received ;  but  here  she 
obviously  receives  quod  oiunquam,  quod  nullihi,  quod 
ah  nullo,  (what  never,  what  nowhere,  what  by  nobody,) 
is  received  ;  and  she  anathematizes  the  Protestants  and 
spurns  their  Bible  as  mutilated  because  they  exclude 
from  it  those  spurious  writings  which  were  excluded 
with  most  remarkable  unanimity  by  the  churches  and 

*  Perceval's  Romau  Schism,  p.  42  G.  Carey's  Testimonies  of  the 
Fathers,  p.  119. 


APOCRYPHAL   BOOKS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.      5 S3 

the  fathers  of  the  first  four  centuries,  including  their 
own  most  boasted  saints  and  their  own  most  celebrated 
churches,  the  saints  of  Rome  and  the  very  church  of 
Rome  itself  among  the  rest.  The  only  shadow  of  a 
discrepancy  from  the  strict  Protestant  view  of  the  Old 
Testament  canon,  w^iich  we  find  in  any  of  them,  is, 
that,  in  one  or  two  instances,  the  book  of  Baruch  seems 
to  be  included  and  the  book  of  Esther  excluded.  Yet 
even  these  instances,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  far 
from  being  certain  ;  as  to  the  great  mass  of  the  apocry- 
phal books,  the  testimony  against  them  for  the  first 
four  centuries  is  unequivocal,  unimpeachable,  and  per- 
fectly decisive.  The  decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
on  this  subject  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  most 
wretched  blunder,  arising  partly  from  ignorance  and 
partly  from  partisan  heat  and  blindness.  A  church 
which  claims  infallibility,  can  never  correct  her  own 
blunders,  but  must  hold  on  upon  them  till  they  eat  the 
very  heart  out  of  her,  as  a  man  may  be  destroyed, 
mind  and  body,  by  the  morbid  growth  of  an  ineradi- 
cable wen. 

The  fourth  point  proposed,  to  wit,  the  examination 
of  the  apocryphal  books  themselves,  will  afford  ample 
material  for  a  separate  discussion  in  the  volume  on  the 
Old  Testament. 


ES\^nSs»t.eBoo.soft.e 

p„,ceton  Theological  Sem,nary-Speer  U  rary 


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